


You Look Like Trouble (But I Guess I Do Too)

by 655321



Series: So He Won't Break [2]
Category: Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV), Venom (Comics), Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Ableist Language, Angst and Porn, Ass Play, Awkward Flirting, Bisexual Eddie Brock, Bisexual Matt Murdock, Blow Jobs, Body Worship, Bondage, Bottom Matt Murdock, Breathplay, Canon-Typical Violence, Catholic Matt Murdock, Come Sharing, Communism, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, Demisexual Eddie Brock, Domestic Fluff, Established Eddie Brock/Venom Symbiote, Explicit Sexual Content, Frottage, Human Disaster Matt Murdock, Impact Play, Interrogation, Investigations, Kink Negotiation, Light Angst, Light Dom/sub, Light Masochism, M/M, Making Out, Marathon Sex, Mild Sexual Content, Mind Meld, Multiple Orgasms, Murder Mystery, Orgasm Delay/Denial, Overstimulation, Police Brutality, Porn With Plot, Porn with Feelings, Power Dynamics, Power Play, Praise Kink, Rare Pairings, Romance, Schmoop, Slow Burn, Submissive Character, Swearing, Tentacles, Threesome - M/M/M, Under-negotiated Kink, Xenophilia, Zero-gravity sex
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-07
Updated: 2020-02-28
Packaged: 2020-10-11 20:20:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 39,147
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20552117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/655321/pseuds/655321
Summary: "For Matt, the best answer was both. Always both. Always everything, all at once. It made Eddie dizzy, but he would hold on tight."Chapter 4 & 6 - mild sexual contentChapters 7 - 9 - explicit sexual content





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title is from the Lisa LeBlanc song.
> 
> ****Content warning: opening scene contains a depiction of police brutality against a Black person. It is not too graphic, and no one gets seriously hurt. (Cops don't count) Later in the chapter there are mentions of ICE concentration camps.
> 
> ++Daredevil playlist:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HF2T0jqdjdqh0gVdjWCI3?si=X9RjkAGuQUu_l3cjbR2dbw  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAFhJzpyNZXNbJA6RtLaIf5b
> 
> \-- Symbrock playlist:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAHSkFRianKONdH5XolMaUFq  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gwV83dOMY5F7leokXMbhu?si=XlepYjgmTHK2JvdLEEfXXg

“Love ain’t worth nothing  
  
Unless there’s something  
  
Worth fighting for”  
  
( Kings of Leon, “Beautiful War” )

**\-----**

**Will you get me chocolate, Eddie?**

“We have chocolate at home, V.”

**There’s milk chocolate at home, Eddie. I prefer dark.**

“Of course you do. Well, since you asked nicely -”

**Eddie! Bad men.**

Eddie looked up and saw Venom’s focus. Across the street, two cops were stalking a tall Black kid. He looked like a teenager on his way home from school. Eddie grumbled, his brow furrowed, but he didn’t have much time to weigh the situation before the cops started screaming at the kid. He hadn’t done anything. It was a residential road and it wasn’t too crowded right now. The people who were out made a good show of minding their own business. 

Eddie’s stomach dropped when one of the cops pulled his gun and aimed it at the kid’s back. They were giving this innocent kid the whole criminal treatment, shouting threats at him. The kid put his hands over his head, what else could he do? He was shaking, trying to tell the cops that he hadn’t done anything.

**Eddie, have to stop them. Now!**

The other cop was approaching the kid now. Eddie’s hands were shaking, he was paralyzed in panic. Venom took them over decisively and made toward the cops in a few long strides. Venom grabbed the cop who had his gun out, lifting him off the ground. The other one had already grabbed the kid and was trying to wrestle him to the ground. 

“Get off me! I didn’t do anything!” the kid shouted, scared. Scared for his life.

Venom opened his maw for the one he was holding. The cop tried to use his gun but Venom was unfazed. 

**What’s this?**

Venom grabbed the cop’s arm, twisting it until the gun clattered to the pavement. On his forearm, perfectly prominent, was a sun cross tattooed in thick black lines. It looked more like the reticle of a gun than a cross. Venom chomped his teeth around the cop’s neck, taking the head off and into his mouth. 

_ Oh, god, jesus, Venom - stop! _

**Shh, Eddie.**

Eddie could feel how much Venom enjoyed the meal. Pituitary and pineal glands were a delicacy; potent, rich.

Venom hurled the body away, high over the buildings lining the street. He turned to the cop who had by now gotten cuffs on the innocent kid. It didn’t seem to matter to the cop that the kid was now restrained, and couldn’t have resisted. The cop was still shouting at the kid to stop resisting. He was putting his full weight on the slimmer, younger body, threatening to crush him.

The cop was turned away from Venom and didn’t even see the hulking alien who ate his partner. The kid on the ground made eye contact with Venom, and he looked so scared, but some relief took over his face as he watched Venom stalk up behind his attacker.

Venom grabbed the cop, hauled him off his prey, and swiftly bit his head off too. He threw the body away like the first. It may have soared miles. That should confuse any investigation for a while. 

Venom knelt to swiftly break the handcuffs restraining the kid.

“What the hell?” the kid stared at Venom in awe as he got to his feet, shaking.

** _Go home! _ **Venom growled.

The kid immediately took off running. 

_ Take us home, V. We gotta get out of here. _

Venom leapt up the nearest building. He navigated them through the city, rooftop to rooftop. Eddie had to close his eyes and sink deeper into V’s darkness, lest the soaring heights break whatever sanity he was holding on to. 

Finally, Venom dropped Eddie into a parking lot near their apartment. Eddie was trembling. His legs felt like jelly, he could barely keep his balance. He couldn’t speak. Venom said nothing. Eddie slowly made his way up to their apartment. He unlocked the door with trembling hands and closed the door behind him, locking it and putting his back up against it as if protecting against anyone who might come for them.

**No one saw us, Eddie. I made sure.**

“You made sure?”

**Yes. Please, trust me, Eddie.**

Eddie stumbled into the living room and let himself fall back onto the sofa.

“I trust you, V.”

He didn’t have much choice.

\---

A couple hours later, once his nerves had settled, Eddie suddenly remembered the sun cross tattoo that Venom had seen.

“That cop we killed was a neo-nazi. I'd feel good about that if I wasn't so terrified."

**He was a bad man, Eddie.**

“Oh, god -” Eddie sounded like he might be sick.

**What, Eddie? We did good.**

“Yeah, but doing that kinda good is really dangerous, V.”

**We want to be good, Eddie. There are many bad men.**

“I know, V."

**There are bad men holding kids in cages, Eddie. No better than the nazis.**

“How do you know about the nazis?”

**I have the internet, Eddie. I research. Learned from you.**

“That is a whole new level of trouble, V, you know that right?”

**Trouble is our middle name, Eddie.**

Eddie shook his head. “It’s not," he whimpered. "I take your point, though. This is more complicated, V."

**Why?**

“Because if we start taking out cops, they will come for us. They’ll take us and they’ll put us in a cage. And I’m the one who’s going to pay that price.”

**If they put us in a cage, I’ll get us out.**

“It may not be that simple, V.”

**We fought a whole SWAT team once, Eddie.**

“Yeah, and we at least had an element of surprise. And even then they figured out that flash grenades can hurt us. If they find us again, they’ll be prepared. It won’t be a fight like that again, V. They’ll come for us in the middle of the night. Do more research.”

**I know about cops, Eddie**, Venom growled in response. **They are the worst of the worst. Put kids in cages, Eddie. **Venom's voice was urgent and ferocious.

“Look, I wanna help those kids just as much as you, but, even if we could break them out, where would we take them? To pull off an operation like that, V, we'd need resources, a plan. I can barely afford this apartment. We’d need friends in high places and I’m fresh outta those.”

**We can find resources. Get money.**

“How, rob a bank?”

**You know, banks are insured, Eddie. You don’t have to hurt people to get money.**

“Maybe so, but this is a capitalist society and people will defend that money with their lives.”

**Why do people protect money, Eddie? Paper?**

“I dunno, V, it’s hard to explain. I’m too tired. Go read Marx or something.”

**Marx?  
**

\---

The next morning Eddie woke feeling like he hadn’t had any sleep at all. He sat up in bed and noticed the black tendril stretching from his calf to the desk in the corner, where a blob of Venom sat in front of a laptop. As soon as the symbiote sensed that Eddie was awake, he floated over to manifest a face next to Eddie’s.

**We have to eat the rich, Eddie. Capitalists are the real parasites.**

“Oh, god, I’ve created a monster,” Eddie mumbled as he stood from the bed.

Venom had already put on a pot of coffee, he could smell it. Eddie smiled at that. He padded into the kitchen, poured himself a cup, and then sat at the dining table littered with old newspapers and overdue bills.

“Look, V. When I told you about good people and bad people before, I probably oversimplified. Sometimes it’s not so,” Eddie paused, looking for the right words, “it’s not so black and white.”

**You sound like a liberal, Eddie.**

“Jesus, what, did you read Mao too?”

**Yes. And Lenin.**

“Just calm down, there, comrade. One thing at a time, alright?”

**I know you know these things, Eddie. Why are you acting like this? You’re scared.**

“You’re damn right, I’m scared, V!” Eddie hissed, and then lowered his voice to a worried whisper, “we just killed two cops.”

**They deserved it, Eddie.**

“That doesn’t matter!” Eddie had to lower his voice so as not to yell at Venom in frustration. “I know you know what I’m talking about so stop it with that,” he hissed.

Eddie sighed, and gulped the coffee. 

“We’ve only been together six months and now you want me to start the communist revolution single handed?”

**We, Eddie. We do it together.**

“Just let me breathe a little, okay?”

Venom dropped the aggressive tone immediately, sensing Eddie's breaking point. His voice was soft when he asked,

**Can I touch, Eddie?**

“Yeah, rub my shoulders or something.”

Venom made a pleased sound as he manifested behind Eddie. As the symbiote’s hands began to knead his tense shoulders, he could have sworn Venom was purring. Eddie relaxed into it, letting his shoulders and eyes droop with the full weight of his fatigue. 

\---

That night, Eddie couldn’t sleep. Venom didn’t ask if Eddie wanted to sleep. Venom stayed manifest and sat right next to Eddie, watching his human. Venom reached out and stroked along the frayed nerves of Eddie’s consciousness, trying to soothe him but to little avail. After hours of sleepless silence, shortly after 2am, Eddie finally spoke.

“We should skip town for a while. I’ll see if I can get a travel assignment, I think I heard someone talking about something in New York.”

**New York. Should you really go back there, Eddie?**

“I’m not moving back there. It should be fine as long as we keep a low profile.”

\----

{ Hellcat Annie's Tap Room, 10th Ave, Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan }

“Holy shit, you're Eddie Brock!”

An affable and slightly drunk blonde man in a suit sauntered up to Eddie where he sat at the bar.

“Uh, yep, that's me,” Eddie fidgeted, uncomfortable with being recognized.

“Foggy Nelson,” the man extended his hand and Eddie shook it perfunctorily. 

“I was such a fan of your show! What happened, man?” Foggy asked, as if they were old friends.

“Uh,” Eddie glanced around the bar. It was still early, and the clientele was fairly sparse. Fuck it. Turning back to Foggy, he asked, “you gonna buy me a drink or what?”

-

Foggy did buy Eddie a drink, and invited him over to a table where another man was sitting. Foggy sat next to him and gestured for Eddie to sit across.

“This is my partner, Matt Murdock,” Foggy introduced the man sitting next to him. 

Murdock was handsome, with a square jaw and fluffy brown hair that looked soft as sin. He wore shades, lending him an air of mystery that felt a little out of place next to his amiable partner. He only smiled politely and nodded his head in Eddie’s direction.

**Oh no. He's cute, Eddie.**

Eddie cleared his throat awkwardly to keep from responding to Venom out loud.

_ Stop it, V. _

**He's really hot, Eddie.**

_ I know, okay, now settle down. _

-

Matt observed Eddie. He could smell the man’s soap, deodorant, sweat. Cologne? It wasn’t something Matt recognized. No, it wasn’t like anything he’d ever - 

Matt tilted his head, lost in the confusion, the mystery of this smell. It was indescribable. Matt tried to find its closest likenesses - faintly like ozone and something earthy, like cedar and petrichor, but not even that was wholly accurate. There was something _ more _ about him. Something Matt could only describe as an “aura.” There was something very different, very special about Eddie Brock. 

-

“I read your Kasady interview!" Foggy was gushing. "Grim shit. What was it like being in the same room as that guy?”

“Terrifying,” Eddie answered honestly. A bit of a chill ran through him just thinking about it. "Would never want to do it again, I can tell you that." 

Eddie gulped his drink. He felt Venom warm inside him, felt his Other gently soothing him.

"Is it true he asked for you specifically?"

"Yup." He finished off the drink in another gulp.

"Jesus, that's some Silence of the Lambs shit. Do you know why?"

Eddie shook his head. "No idea. Maybe he's a fan of the show."  


-

"So, if you're here, that means you're working on something, right?" Foggy prodded, too earnest to be a nuisance.

"Uh, I probably shouldn't talk too much about it," Eddie answered.

"Come on, who are we gonna tell?" Foggy cajoled.

Eddie quirked an eyebrow and lightly picked up his glass from the table, just enough to make the ice tinkle.

"Another round!" Foggy announced. "Another round?" he asked Matt, who only gave that polite smile and shook his head. 

-

Fresh drink in hand, Foggy looked at Eddie expectantly.

"Okay, but I'm swearing you to secrecy," Eddie stipulated, shaking a finger in Foggy’s direction.

"Mum's the word. Swear on my bar ID." 

Foggy took the ID from his wallet, slapped it on the table and held up his right hand as if to swear in court. 

Eddie chuckled. This could be a very bad idea, but he'd certainly made worse decisions. He was a little tipsy, and far from his San Francisco troubles. Even though he'd only met the man a couple hours ago, Foggy was feeling more like a friend than anyone had in a long time. The guy was voraciously friendly, like a pit bull puppy. It was terribly endearing.

And then there was Matt. Aloof and calculating, observant as a predator. Why was that sort of thing so attractive anyway?

Despite the natural instinct to stay guarded, Eddie was more than a little eager at the idea of making some allies. It had been quite a while since he'd had any.

"Some bizarre … murders I guess. I've got a contact at the ME's office. Apparently they've got bodies they can't identify, all in similar condition. Don't have details yet, but I'm going to go see for myself. Everyone's being cagey about it. No one wants to let on that they have no clue what the fuck is happening."

-

Hours passed, and they'd been getting on famously, weird as that felt. 

_ God, am I so isolated? _ Eddie wondered. Venom throbbed in his veins.

Foggy would talk his ear off and rapid-fire questions at him. Occasionally Matt would interject with something astute, cutting through Foggy's shit. Matt would rib Foggy in the way that only very old and very dear friends had.

-

"How long have you been in town?" Matt asked Eddie conversationally.

"Couple days."

"Got a hotel?"

"Yeah, the Tribune booked me for two weeks, have to see where it goes from there."

"Well, if you ever need a place, my apartment's big, and I'm usually away. Feel free to stop by, stay as long as you need."

Matt gave Eddie a business card, wrote the address on the back.

"Really? You just met me, man."

"Well, it sounds like you're looking into something that could make you enemies. And, any friend of Foggy's is a friend of mine."

"Well, okay, we're all friends now, great."

Eddie almost felt like he was being pranked.

"Never know when you'll need a good reporter," Foggy remarked.

\---

Eddie was pleasantly buzzed, walking back to his hotel through the crisp night.

“What do you think, V?”

**They seem nice, Eddie. I think they like you.** **  
**Eddie thought about the business card Matt had given him. He touched it in his pocket. It was real, it was there.

“So I’m not going crazy?”

**No, Eddie.**

“You would tell me, right?”

**It’s okay, Eddie. I promise. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some minor Daredevil season 3 spoilers ~
> 
> ++Daredevil playlist:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HF2T0jqdjdqh0gVdjWCI3?si=X9RjkAGuQUu_l3cjbR2dbw  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAFhJzpyNZXNbJA6RtLaIf5b
> 
> \-- Symbrock playlist:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAHSkFRianKONdH5XolMaUFq  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gwV83dOMY5F7leokXMbhu?si=XlepYjgmTHK2JvdLEEfXXg

“I can be a handful

But that’s why you have two hands”

( Weathers - “I’m Not Ok” )

\-----

{ Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 1st Ave, Kips Bay, Manhattan }

Eddie stood outside a maintenance door behind the medical examiner’s office. Hands shoved into the pocket of his hoodie, he fidgeted with a fraying seam inside. He shifted his weight and bounced his leg anxiously, trying not to constantly swivel his head and look too conspicuous.

Finally, the door opened. His cousin, Allie, stood in the frame. They didn't move, only held the door open and waved him inside.

“Okay, come on. I’m technically on break, so you’ve got 15 minutes.”

Once inside, the morgue was just around the corner and downstairs. It was empty. 

“Preliminary toxicology will take a few more days, so as of right now, we know jack shit.”

Allie pulled out two adjacent morgue drawers with a bit of a ghoulish flourish.

"These two were found together, they were brought in a couple days ago."

They walked a few rows down and pulled out a drawer from shoulder-height.

"This one came in yesterday.”

Eddie stepped forward to get a look at the bodies. They looked pristine, like they might sit up and walk out. They didn’t even look as pale as they should have.

“You sure they’re dead?”

Allie scoffed. “I know, right? It’s creepy.”

Eddie moved to take a look at the next corpse.

“All the easy stuff,” Allie continued, “fingerprints, dental records, it’s all come up inconclusive.”

“Wait, how to dental records come up inconclusive?”

Allie shrugged, “someone fucked with their teeth. They don’t have fingerprints either.”

Eddie made a face and his mouth formed a silent “what?”

“DNA samples are being tested, but there’s no guarantee they’ll match anything in the system. Right now getting an ID on any of them is looking slim.” Allie crossed their arms and leaned against the autopsy table.

“Jesus, someone really wanted to bury these people.”

Eddie was standing eye level with the third body, feeling a sudden pang of empathy.

“See, now that’s the weird thing to me,” Allie lifted a palm thoughtfully. “If identifying characteristics had been erased, then why were they left to be found? Why wouldn’t someone have finished the job of getting rid of them?”

“Maybe they weren’t dumped.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t know. Let me know when those tests come back, okay?”

  
  


\--

{ Clinton Church, 51st St, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan }

“Matthew.”

He nodded, said only “hi.” There was a part of him that wanted to call her “mom,” but he would never be able to. It made him feel like a child.

“What’s wrong, Matthew?”

Matt’s lips broke a small smirk. Even if he would never call her “mother,” Maggie read him like a book. Matt breathed in the church air - slightly stale, mostly incense and snuffed candles and old wood. Prayers and hope and sadness. 

“I don’t know,” he finally said. “Seems like things are back on track for now. Guess I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.”

“Do you ever think about doing something with all that anger?” 

Maggie cut to the heart of him, no matter what platitudes he gave her. Matt bit his tongue, fidgeted his interlocked fingers. He could play obtuse, but Maggie knew him too well. 

“And what am I supposed to do with it?”

“Set it down for a while? Make some peace with it?”

“I use it,” Matt replied.

“Weapons don’t serve when the war is over, Matthew.”

“It’s not over.”

Matt lifted his face into the light from the stained glass above the pulpit. Maggie only looked at him. She wouldn’t say more, she knew it was useless. It would never be over, not for Matt.

  
  


\--

{ Law Office of Nelson, Murdock, and Page, 11th Ave, Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan }

There was a man standing before the plaque bearing the name of the new office - Nelson, Murdock, and Page. He was shifting his weight nervously. Karen wouldn't normally be inviting conversation with random men on the street, but this one looked lost, and a little vulnerable as he stood there hugging himself. Karen's brow furrowed, and she stepped toward him slowly. The man looked up at her, uncertainty in his eyes.

"Do you need help?" she asked him, still keeping a distance.

"Uh, no. No, I don't think so. I just - well, I - uh…" 

_ Oh god. _ Eddie caught himself and switched tac. 

"Do you work here?" he gestured to the sign.

Karen wasn't picking up anything dangerous from this guy. Awkward, yes. But not suspicious. She wondered if he might be a potential client.

"I'm Karen Page," she answered, more by way of an affirmative than an introduction. 

The man's face and posture seemed to relax a bit.

"I’m Eddie Brock. I met Matt and Foggy the other night."

"Oh. Do you need to come in?" she gestured to the office door.

Eddie hesitated.

"I don't really know why I'm here," he confessed. "They just seemed nice and - I thought maybe… uh, I dunno, I just thought I'd stop by."

Karen tilted her head slightly, scrutinizing him for a second before smiling.

"Come on,” she opened the door and held it behind her. “Come in and have some lousy coffee."

\--

"So, how did you meet Matt and Foggy?" Karen asked, bringing two paper cups of mediocre coffee to the table.

"I got into town a few days ago. I was at a bar the other night and Foggy recognized me."

Karen tilted her head, looking at him and clearly wondering if she should recognize him.

"I used to have a show," he explained.

"Oh. Where did you come in from?"

"San Francisco. I'm here on assignment for the Tribune."

"Long way. Must be a big deal."

"Karen Page," Eddie said suddenly, something in his brain clicking. "I've read you. The Bulletin, right? You wrote about Daredevil."

Karen nodded, looking nonplussed, sipping the coffee. "You keep up with a New York paper from San Francisco?"

"Used to write for the Globe," Eddie gulped the coffee and shrugged. "Maybe I miss it."

"Maybe?"

"I grew up in San Francisco. Never really felt like home. The most I ever felt at home was here in New York. At least until a couple years ago. I got engaged, tried to make San Francisco home. Didn't work."

"I'm sorry,” Karen placated. Awkward silence threatened, and she steered back on course. "Uh, I understand if you can't talk about it, but I'm curious. What are you looking into? Maybe I can help."

“Well, I don’t have a whole lot yet. Just preliminary reports from the coroner’s office.”

“Mind if I take a look?”

Eddie was beyond trying to keep this secret. Besides, he could use another set of journalist eyes on this. Karen might catch something he missed. 

“Knock yourself out,” Eddie sighed and pulled the file from his bag. 

He sipped the coffee while Karen looked over the file silently for several minutes. She pursed her lips and clicked her teeth, universal shorthand for _ well, this is fucked. _

“Don’t suppose you know anyone in homicide?” Karen’s eyes flicked up from the file.

“Nope. Got a contact at the DA’s office. With the kind of circles he runs in, it’s likely he’ll have heard something.”

“No tests back with anything we need yet, huh?”

“No. Still waiting on that.” Eddie drank the coffee and thought maybe he’d rather have a drink.

“Then, what we can look into now is the locations where the bodies were found.”

“Yeah, I thought about that too. There’s no real link that I can find.”

“The first two were found in Hell's Kitchen, right on the pier and then the third,” Karen flipped through the file, “on the other side of the island, near the upper east side.”

She stared at the coroner’s reports, her brows knitting.

“There's no reason to believe they were killed elsewhere and then left. There's not even a cause of death. Jesus, what happened to them?”

_ Bet she was a good one _ , Eddie thought. She was already invested in this.

“What do they look like?” Karen pulled the large morgue photos out of the file. “God, look at them, they could still be alive. No marks on them, nothing. This coroner's report might as well be blank.”

Eddie sipped the coffee and looked tired.

“Wait. Maybe -”

“What?” Eddie perked up a bit.

Karen pulled up a map of Manhattan on the office desktop.

“Okay, the first two were found here -”

She placed a finger on the screen just over pier 99, the northernmost pier of Hell's Kitchen.

“And the other one was here.”

She did the same with her other hand, placing a finger near the southernmost boundary of the upper east side, on FDR drive where the Queensboro bridge crossed it.

“Oh my God.”

“What?”

“They’re exactly parallel. Exact. You could take 59th and it would connect both locations. Doesn’t that seem weird?”

Eddie tilted his head.

“Okay, uh, this might be a shot in the dark but -”

“Shoot,” Eddie told her.

“What if they were running? What if they escaped from somewhere? The first two together, and then the third alone. They were running and they took different routes. It’s as if they were only able to get so far.”

“Then what killed them?”

Karen only sighed. 

After a moment, Eddie's wheels were turning. 

"Okay, if we take the theory that they escaped from somewhere, maybe, whoever was holding them captive, maybe they drugged them with something. Something that would only let them get so far."

“There’s still no toxicology,” Karen mused.

“No, it’ll be a few days.

“Damn. Then there’s not a whole lot to go on.”

Eddie nodded.

“Thanks for looking at it. I never would have noticed that. That gives me a possibility. A theory is better than nothing.”

“Sure. Keep me posted when the labs come in?”

“Absolutely.”

  
  


\-----

{ New York County District Attorney’s Office, Hogan Pl, Chinatown, Manhattan }

Eddie stepped into the elevator and took a deep breath. 

**Okay, Eddie?**

Venom checked in on him, feeling his heart rate spike, feeling the little knot of dread in his stomach.

"Yeah, its okay. V, I need you to chill while we're here. It might feel a little weird, but it's okay."

The elevator stopped on the 5th floor and Eddie navigated to the office he was looking for. The door was open, and he knocked at the frame as he entered.

Markus glanced up from his desk when Eddie walked into his office. He looked good, Eddie thought. Obviously he'd done well for himself. Promotion, looked like he'd bulked up a bit. Eddie tried not to get too into his feelings, and keep it professional. But, damn he couldn't wait to get out of here.

"Hey, Eddie," Markus greeted him casually, as if he'd been expecting him, as if it hadn’t been years since they’d spoken.

Damn that cool demeanor. Nothing ever surprised him. Perfect poker face. He didn't even ask why Eddie was back in New York. He must have wanted this over as fast as Eddie did. So Eddie cut to the chase.

"I could use your advice on something."

Eddie set the file on the prosecutor’s desk. It was slim, containing only photos of the bodies, the ME’s report, and a few preliminary tests. Markus didn’t even need to look at it. 

“Let me guess. It’s the weird bodies no one can identify.”

“How’d you know?”

“It’s the kind of thing you’d be doing.”

“Okay, well, what do you think?”

“There has to be a suspect to be a prosecutor.”

“Still a smart-ass,” Eddie sighed.

“Okay, Eddie,” Markus looked up from the papers on his desk but not at Eddie’s face. “No surprise here, nobody wants to touch this case. Detectives are trying to bury it. They’ll find a way to get rid of those bodies as soon as they can, before anyone hears about it.”

Eddie picked up the file and tapped its edge on the desk, nodding.

“Okay. Good. So no one will mind if I poke around.”

“Still a dumb-ass," Markus sighed.

Then he looked Eddie right in the eyes for the first and last time. 

"Don't get yourself killed, Eddie, not for this.”

“Thanks. Good talk.”

  
  


\-----

{ Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, 

1:00AM }

The body that was supposed to be dead  _ gasped _ . It didn’t sound quite human anymore. It glanced over to its companion, its fellow prisoner. It was waking too. 

There was nothing left of their hosts, just empty husks. They wore them like clothes. Even with the hosts dead, they could keep these bodies appearing alive indefinitely. It was part of their mutation - alive or dead didn’t make much difference to them. Dead was easier to wield, except for the constant generation of cells that would maintain the illusion of life. 

Where would they go? They couldn’t go back. They would rather die than go back to that prison. Could they die? They didn’t know. Where would they go? Would they be safe anywhere? What did safe even mean for them? They shared the thoughts in silence.

The two escapees moved to the third, the scientist. It wasn’t awake yet. They placed their hands on the body of the third, and extended themselves to nudge it gently.  _ Wake _ .

The scientist gasped as she woke. She shook. Her eyes looked scared. The others tried to soothe her.  _ We’re scared, too. _

But she wasn’t like them, not yet. There was a part of the host left, only a sliver. But enough to fight, enough to be a discordant voice in their shared consciousness. 

They didn’t know where to go, only that they had to leave this place. It took her a moment to get her bearings, but once she did, the scientist led them.  _ Follow me. _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ++Daredevil playlist:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HF2T0jqdjdqh0gVdjWCI3?si=X9RjkAGuQUu_l3cjbR2dbw  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAFhJzpyNZXNbJA6RtLaIf5b
> 
> \-- Symbrock playlist:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAHSkFRianKONdH5XolMaUFq  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gwV83dOMY5F7leokXMbhu?si=XlepYjgmTHK2JvdLEEfXXg

“Like hell, we are anxiously waiting

Like hell, burning silently strong

Somehow we fell down by the wayside

And somehow this hell is home”

(Alkaline Trio - “Burn”)

\----

Venom had prodded Eddie until he asked for extra chocolate syrup in his coffee. Now it was too sweet, and he scrunched up his face while he drank it.  _ Things I do for love. _

A text came through from Allie, telling him to meet them at a restaurant for lunch.

"Guess they’ve got something. Good. I need a break, here."

Eddie took a cab to the address, and got a table. Allie didn’t show up until about a half hour after the time they’d given him. He was going to greet them but their face was stony and they only sat across from him silently.

“What’s up?” he asked, starting to feel nervous.

Allie didn't answer. They pulled a notepad from their jacket pocket and wrote in it. Damn, they were smart. Eddie narrowed his eyes, wondering what they'd been through to think about things like this.

_ All the bodies disappeared from the office last night. _

They set the pad on the table and turned it so Eddie could read it.

"You're shitting me," Eddie said aloud.

"We all saw it coming," Allie answered aloud.

Eddie took the pen and wrote, _ Please tell me you’ve still got something. _

They wrote in reply:  _ I made copies of the files, swapped out the samples. They’re going to destroy everything. This case never existed. _

“You’re a saint,” he said aloud.

_ I’m probably going to get fired _ , they wrote.

“Well, at least you'll know you did the right thing.”

Allie shook their head with an exasperated expression. They tore the page from the notebook and tucked both away in their jacket.

They ate lunch. When they stood to leave, Allie moved close to hug Eddie and slipped a folded manilla envelope into the pocket of Eddie's hoodie.

"Be careful," they told him.

  
  


\---

Back in the hotel room, Eddie sat before his laptop and opened the folder Allie had given him. 

“Okay, so how do we start?” he sighed, more to himself as he set the lab samples aside and began rifling through the reports.

**Coffee** , Venom replied.

“Yes.” 

Eddie turned to the small coffee pot, but Venom was already beside him, sliding a paper cup of cheap hotel coffee into his hand. 

"You're perfect." Eddie grinned and pecked Venom's cheek. 

Eddie dug through the file but it wasn’t much more than he already had, the only thing new was the predicted “no match” from the DNA tests. No toxicology. 

“Shit. We’re going to have to find someone who can look at these samples.” Eddie groaned, trying to get his head around how he was supposed to accomplish that.

**Eddie, look.**

Venom picked up a business card from under one of the vials and handed it to Eddie. It had the name and address of an independent pathologist, one Dr. Elise Rainier. On the back of the card was Allie’s handwriting that read:  _ tell her I sent you _ . 

“Well that solves that problem. Damn, we’re lucky, aren’t we?”

**We do okay** , Venom agreed, resting his face on Eddie’s shoulder and petting Eddie’s hair.

  
  


\--

The address was a large warehouse in the upper east side near the waterfront. There was no sign, nothing to direct visitors. There was a locked door with a warning label. Eddie walked toward the river and called the number on the card.

The voice that answered said only, "pathology," in a tone that implied it expected a response.

Eddie blustered a bit, unsure.

"Uh, I, uh, I have some samples to be tested?" Then he remembered, adding in a rush, "Allie Hensley sent me?"

A pause. Then the voice replied, "Stay on the line. Come to the door on 75th. Tell me when you're there and I'll buzz you in."

_ Yes. Okay. Good. _

Eddie turned around and walked back to the door.

"Okay, I'm here."

Eddie put his hand on the door handle and felt the  _ click  _ of it unlocking. 

The warehouse space was large. There was a lab set up in the middle of it, walled in by mobile partitions and clear plastic sheeting. Mostly floodlights lit the lab space, and the unused area around it was dark. Someone in a lab coat bustled around it. 

A woman in scrubs approached from the lab to a desk that ran interference with the entryway. Eddie stepped up to the desk.

"Dr. Rainier?"

"I'm Dr. Rainier's assistant. I'll take the samples."

Eddie set the envelope on the desk, a bit loathe to part with his only lead.

The assistant handed Eddie a black smartphone.

"Put your number in this. We'll call you when the results are ready. Probably be about three or four days." 

The assistant took the samples, walked the envelope over to the lab.

"Should I - put my name in?"

"No, just the number. Samples get a serial number and we use that for the contact name."

The assistant took the phone from Eddie and returned to the lab.

"So...is that it?"

"Yes. Mx. Hensley took care of payment." 

The assistant was already processing the samples, clearly done with Eddie.

"Uh, okay then. Thank you."

Eddie turned awkwardly and found his way out of the warehouse and back onto the street.

  
  


\----

**Eddie!**

Venom woke him in the middle of the night, just as the nightmares were creeping in. Eddie sat up, taking deep breaths. 

**Have to leave now, Eddie!**

Venom sounded scared. That was very bad. Eddie got himself moving as quickly as he could, pulling on clothes and grabbing his only bag, with his laptop and notes packed inside. He slung the bag over his shoulder and threw the room’s door open. 

**Take the stairs, Eddie.**

Eddie followed direction, knowing Venom could sense things he couldn’t.

_ What is going on, V? _

**Bad men, Eddie. Coming for us.**

Eddie made his way down the emergency stairs, trying his best to be both fast and silent. 

**Not the lobby, Eddie.**

Eddie bypassed the door, going instead for the fire exit that lead to a tiny back lot with a dumpster and a fence separating it from the closely packed buildings.

"Which way?"

**Left. **

There wasn’t anywhere to go but over the fence. 

**I got you.**

Venom stretched out tendrils and hauled Eddie over the fence and into a tree. From the tree, up onto the roof of the adjacent apartment building. Venom took over Eddie’s legs, getting his human moving faster over the rooftops until they were overlooking 10th avenue. Venom dropped Eddie into a tree, and then onto the street.

**Run, Eddie! Through the park.**

Eddie broke into a sprint, and as soon as he made it across the street and into the park, gunfire came from behind him. He ducked instinctively, but he had no idea where the bullets were coming from. Venom made a shield to protect him. Eddie slipped into an alley between residential buildings and the gunfire faded away.

_ Low profile, V. Low profile. _

Eddie could feel Venom roiling inside him, ready to take him over to get them to safety. Venom growled, annoyed.

**Fine.**

Using a dumpster and fire escape as cover, Venom shot out a tendril and hoisted them up to a much taller rooftop. 

“Oh fuck!” 

Eddie tried not to scream as the ground faded into the distance but the sheer terror tore it out of him. Venom carried them from one rooftop to another until it appeared they had lost the men chasing them. 

"Are they gone?"

**Quiet. I'm listening.**

Eddie tried to gulp in air as quietly as he could. His lungs felt endless. Definitely a panic attack.

**They're gone now. Stay away from the pier, that’s where they're waiting.**

"Okay."

**You thinking what I'm thinking, Eddie?**

"Of course I am, V."

He still had Matt's card in the pocket of his jeans.

\--

Matt knew when Eddie entered the building. His smell, his nervous heart, and muttering under his breath. Heavy footfalls on the stairs; he was exhausted. Matt started toward the door on instinct but knew he'd have to wait for the knock. 

"Hey, Eddie," he answered, still maybe a little too quickly. 

Immediately he winced, catching himself too late that he shouldn't have greeted first. But Eddie didn't seem to notice.

"Hey," he only muttered. 

His heart was hammering. 

"Come in."

"Sorry it's late. I ran into some trouble at the hotel."

Eddie entered the apartment but only stood awkwardly near the couch.

"Perfect timing, actually," Matt lied. It was very much not perfect.  "I was just about to head out."

"Really?"

Eddie may have missed the conspicuous greeting, but a blind man going out near midnight was certainly suspicious. Matt didn't have a remedy for that, so he just rammed through.

"Yeah. Make yourself at home. Feel free to use the kitchen, the bed, whatever you need. I'll be back in the morning."

Matt could smell and hear and feel the nervous way Eddie shifted his weight. 

"Uh, okay, then," Eddie mumbled, looking around the apartment. 

Matt walked out the front door.

\--

The new suit was black. The man who made it had worked from Melvin's original specs and molds. He didn't want a new one. He had fully intended to never wear it again. It was too much of a punch in the gut, what happened to Melvin, what happened with Dex. But Foggy, Karen, and Maggie all badgered him about going on patrol "in his pajamas," and his body absolutely hated him for the abuse he put it through. In the end, the only argument that won him over is that he wouldn't have to rest so long if he could mitigate injury in the first place.  The new helmet was black. But the knee-high boxer's boots, the belt and holster holding his billy clubs, and the sparring tape on his arms were bright red. Too bright to be stealthy, but he didn't need them to be.

-

"Please! You can't do this! You have no right!" A woman’s voice.

"Yeah? How would you stop us? You gonna take it to court? You can't pay us, no way you can pay a lawyer." A man.

Matt followed the voices over rooftops.

"This is our home! You have no right! Get out or I will call the police!"

"Try it. See if they care." A second man.

Matt perched on an adjacent fire escape, listening through the windowpane.

"Look, we're gonna give you this suitcase. It's more money than you've ever seen in there. All you gotta do is find someplace else to live."

Gentrification had come to Hell's Kitchen. Goons were showing up all over the neighborhood trying to bully people into handing over their homes for next to nothing. Matt had been beating up on these guys for weeks to little avail. Whoever they were working for must have been paying them well because they were persistent and he'd only gotten one to talk. He still needed more to go on to trace this back to the source. Maybe one of these two would cooperate.

"We've already told you no." The woman’s voice was resolute. But her heartbeat was erratic.

"You need to think again. "No" isn't gonna end well for you."

Matt placed himself in the shadows beside the door, and reached out an arm to knock it. He was counting on one of the two men checking the door. One came to the door to look out, while the other watched him. 

Their attackers' attention diverted, the family of three - a single mother and two kids - slowly moved toward the back of the house. Good. The mother, she had good instincts, probably from living her whole life in this neighborhood.

Matt kicked the door in with full strength. It flew off the hinges and pinned the man in front of it to the floor. He used it like a springboard to vault at the second man, tackling him. He sat on his chest and punched him several times in the face before he heard the first man shuffling behind him. He was still conscious, had his gun in hand now, and was trying to both squeeze out from under the door and get a shot at Matt. Matt spun around to kick him hard in the face. It was enough to make him lose consciousness and drop the gun, which Matt kicked across the room.

Matt returned to the second man and grabbed him by the shirt, hauling him off the floor. His fingers got tangled up in a rosary around his neck.

"You're Catholic?"

The man nodded frantically, flinching before Matt could even raise his fist. Matt shook his head slowly like a disappointed parent.

"What would your priest say? What penance will you give for what you do?"

"Oh, man -"

"You're gonna tell me what you know," Matt growled, putting emphasis on every word.

"It's development, okay? So some people have to move! This is a shitty neighborhood anyway."

"Whose development?"

"I don't know! I just do what they tell me."

"Who tells you what to do?"

"My boss. We're like independent contractors, we just go where the money is. I don't get to know about all that stuff."

"Name your boss."

"I can't. I can't, okay. They will fuck my life."

"Is this what God wants for you?"

"Fuck. Goddamnit, man."

"Give me a name and I don't send you to find out." 

The man's focus switched to his unconscious partner, the gun across the room. He was scared, but he knew the score.

"Okay, look, just don't hurt me."

"I'm listening."

"Donnelly. That's his name. Just don't tell him it was me, okay?"

Matt released him and gave a smirk. "Don't worry about it. I'm not a snitch."

He had a name. Now he just needed to hear it.

\--

Perched on a roof, he waited for the men he'd followed here to exit the building. He could hear them inside, could track their movements. When they left he made his way silently through the shadows down to the alley, catching the door just before it closed and slipping inside. 

"Donnelly," he called the name from the entryway, in a neutral voice that, just for the moment, could pass as one of the men who had left. See if he could bait the man over.

"Yeah?" 

A beat. Then,

"What?" And he stood and moved toward the door.

Matt timed the hit perfectly so his fist came around the corner to meet the man's face. He grabbed him by the collar with one hand and beat him with the other, forcing him to shuffle backwards, and finally slamming his face into a table strewn with paperwork. 

"Who's giving the orders to buy the tenements?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, man."

"Good. Because this is my favorite part."

Matt pulled the man back by his shirt collar, and resumed punching him repeatedly. Matt was using a fraction of strength, it was all he needed. The man finally tugged out of his grasp and put his arms up to block a blow. Matt could see his next move but he let it happen, flexed his muscles and took the hit to his gut, just to get the opening to rain fists and elbows over the man's head and neck.

"Jesus!" Donnelly flinched backwards, again having to lift his arms to block the onslaught. 

Matt grabbed hold of him by the jacket and threw him bodily, back over on top of the table. It didn't break but Donnelly spit blood all over it, red-splashed pages fluttering to the floor. He was scrambling, trying to regain his balance, his hands sliding against the paper covering the table. He was able to lift himself up a few inches and Matt brought a fist down on his face, causing it to smack against table's surface. Donnelly spit out a mouthful of blood and a tooth. Seeing that, the horror broke his face.

"Okay! Okay I'll tell you, okay? I'll tell you."

Donnelly slid off the table and sat on the floor, blood pouring from his mouth. 

"It comes through a chain of command, okay, we don't deal with anybody directly. Word just comes down from on high. These people, they know how to cover their tracks. All I know is: Echidna. That's all I know."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- little content warning for mild (vaguely written) sexy hijinks
> 
> ++Daredevil playlist:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HF2T0jqdjdqh0gVdjWCI3?si=X9RjkAGuQUu_l3cjbR2dbw  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAFhJzpyNZXNbJA6RtLaIf5b
> 
> \-- Symbrock playlist:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAHSkFRianKONdH5XolMaUFq  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gwV83dOMY5F7leokXMbhu?si=XlepYjgmTHK2JvdLEEfXXg

“You need a big god  
Big enough to hold your love  
You need a big god  
Big enough to fill you up”  
( Florence + The Machine, “Big God” )

\---

"Oh, fuck," Eddie groaned, sitting up in the bed. 

Not his bed. Not his hotel. Oh shit. Matt.

Waves of hunger tore through him so deeply that he couldn't even think.

**Hungry, Eddie. **

"Okay."

Eddie moved slowly to his bag and grabbed the bottle of phenethylamine capsules. Venom's face formed next to his, mouth open. Eddie gave Venom three of the capsules, and swallowed two himself, knowing V would need it later. And, you know, apparently Eddie also needed this chemical that his body made which Venom subsisted on. _ Ought to buy more chocolate. _

**Yes, Eddie. Chocolate!**

"Shhh, V. You get high on that stuff if you eat too much. You've got plenty of energy as it is."

**But, Eddie. Hungry.**

"I gave you three. That's enough for now. I have to get some actual food."

Venom whined, and Eddie felt guilty. _ We’ll get more chocolate today, alright? _

**Thank you, Eddie.**

-

Matt was asleep on the couch. Eddie tried not to wake him, but Matt stirred as soon as Eddie set a bare foot into the living room.

"Sorry," Eddie whispered, still trying to sneak.

"Don't worry about it," Matt replied groggily. "I don't need much sleep."

Who _ was _this guy? Eddie thought.

He dropped the stealth and went to the kitchen to peruse the fridge. He didn't know why he expected it to not be stocked, maybe he was too used to mornings with nothing but cereal. Matt apparently lived healthier than he did, but then again, that bar was very low.

"I can cook some eggs," Eddie offered.

"Good enough," Matt grumbled and headed to the bathroom. 

He showered in less than ten minutes and was back out in the living room. He wore the sweats he'd slept in and nothing else, still drying his hair with a towel.

Matt wasn't just fit, he was fucking stacked. He was built of a kind of lean muscle that Eddie wasn't used to. But it was the many deep scars across Matt's body, which he could see from across the room, that left Eddie staring and shaken.

The bowl Eddie was holding slipped from his fingers and Venom made a quick save with a tendril from his hip, placing the bowl back on the counter.

Matt stopped for a second, as if to listen to something faint, and then disappeared into the bedroom.

_ Oh god, V. _

Venom only purred, and swam around inside him contentedly.

-

When Matt returned to the kitchen to eat he was, mercifully, fully dressed. Not in the suit though, which is what Eddie was expecting. Just sweats and a hoodie.

"Thanks for breakfast."

That polite smile again.

"I gotta ask," Eddie broached anxiously. "Why are you letting me stay here? I'm practically a stranger to you and you gave me your address and left me alone in your apartment."

"Not much different from a one night stand," he replied with a shrug.

That threw Eddie for a loop. Spiked his heart rate, made him shift in the seat.

"I'd say it's a bit different."

"Well, obviously without the fun part."

Not the polite smile this time. A decidedly wicked smirk.

"I'm not afraid of you," Matt told him. "I can tell you're not a bad person, Eddie."

"How's that?"

"I just know. I can feel it."

Again, the casual shrug.

Seriously, who _ was _this guy?

Matt knew Eddie was making a confused face, could feel him shaking his head and his eyelashes stirring the air. He could smell the curiosity.

"If you wanna talk more you can come to the gym with me. I like to keep a morning routine."

\--

They stopped for coffee on the way to the gym, and Eddie got a chocolate bar that he fed to Venom with restraint, lest he look like too much of a loon.

When they got to the gym they didn’t actually talk much more. Mostly, Eddie watched Matt beat a punching bag for the better part of an hour. 

Fogwell's was mostly abandoned, but somehow still functional. Eddie didnt ask why it was here that Matt trained. He didn't mind that they got to be alone.

He tried not to stare. Really, he tried. But that body was poetry in motion. He'd dated guys who weight trained, but he'd never seen a boxer go at it from up close. Such lithe fury, coiled and released, like a snake striking out. The precision, the control in every strike. Matt's rhythmic breath punctuating the air between every hit. His singular, meditative focus.

_ God that is so fucking hot. _

Eddie kept his face stoic behind a cup of coffee. Instinctively, he crossed his legs to obscure how turned on he was. Then he shook his head, chuckling to himself as he remembered that Matt wouldn’t be able to see it anyway.

When Matt left for the locker room, Eddie whispered to Venom.

“What do you think, love?”

**You know what I think, Eddie. And I know what you think. Would you like some help with that?**

_ Might be a little creepy, right? Maybe I should just _-

**We can be quick, Eddie. You’ll feel better. He won’t know.**

Venom coiled snake like around Eddie’s neck, and slithered under the collar of his shirt. Eddie let his head fall back over the bench and focused on staying quiet. Venom traveled under his shirt and into his pants. Venom swallowed him, tongue stroking him and the snake like body squeezing him. Venom was right, it would be quick.

While Matt dressed inside the locker room, he could hear the racing heartbeat from the next room. He could hear the whimpers in Eddie’s throat that he swallowed trying to keep quiet. He could smell Eddie’s sweat and desire. The strange ozone-and-petrichor smell was more pungent now. He couldn’t work out what that meant. Then he could smell the particular musk of climax, but only for a few seconds. And then it was only a lingering trace. A moment later, the mystery smell receded too. 

Matt emerged from the locker room, now dressed in a suit for work. Eddie was still seated, finishing off the coffee and looking very casual. Matt needed to know what the hell was going on with this guy. And the best way to do that was to keep him close.

“I’ll go to the office with you, if you don’t mind,” Eddie crossed the room toward Matt. “I’d like to talk to Karen.”

“You know Karen?” Matt asked.

“Yeah, I stopped by the other day. She was the only one there. We talked for a while. She’s going to help me with this case, I think.”

“Great,” Matt gave the polite smile. “Let’s go.”

\--

There were morning greetings all around when they got to the office. _ How did Matt seem like an entirely different person here? _Eddie thought. Like all his edges suddenly went smooth. Karen ran the boys through the day's schedule and Eddie drank office coffee. He was looking for his chance to tell Karen about the development of missing victims when a woman knocked on the door and entered.

“Hi,” Karen stepped forward to greet her. 

She introduced herself and the boys. Eddie stayed inconspicuous, drinking coffee. Venom fluttered around inside him, interested.

_ Hey, love _, Eddie thought to the warmth coiling up his arms and down his back.

Venom purred. 

**Eddie.**

Eddie was looking out the window, trying to not snoop into the lawyer business, but Venom was paying attention.

\--

“Mrs Ruiz,” Karen began.

“Please,” the woman cut her off, “call me Maya.”

“Maya. Tell us about what happened?” Karen was poised, ready to take notes.

Matt and Foggy sat at the long end of the table, opposite their client, attentive.

“A couple of weeks ago I got a call from a real estate company called Blake Integrity. They gave me a sales pitch about development and city planning. Said they wanted to buy the house. I said no. I didn't think about it again until last night. Two men came to my house, started threatening me and my children. They brought a suitcase of money with them, told me I could have it if we packed up and left. I told them no.”

“Did they become violent?” Karen asked, concern in her voice.

“They threatened me. Told me that it wouldn’t end well for me if I said no. But, before it could go any further, a man broke in.”

“Someone broke in?”

“Yes. A man in a devil costume kicked the door in. He made a mess but he saved us, and scared the others off. It was Daredevil. He asked one of them for information and then he left.”

Karen caught the ghost of a smirk on Matt's lips. Foggy looked at Matt as sternly as possible without being obvious. Matt caught it, but he didn’t care.

“They left behind the money they offered us,” Maya continued. “So I hid it. I'm not moving. I know it will be trouble but I thought I could use the money to hire you. And fix my door, of course.”

“It’s likely that they’ll come looking for that,” Foggy reasoned.

“Yes, I’m aware,” Maya replied. 

“That doesn’t scare you?” Matt asked.

“I’ll keep my family safe,” she replied, somewhat cryptically. “What those men were doing is illegal. That’s why I came to you. Maybe if I stand up, it will help someone else.”

Matt grinned approvingly, his jaw tilting upward. “That’s very courageous of you.”

“So, what can we do?” Maya asked in a tone that said she didn’t have the time or inclination for flattery.

“We’ll look into Blake Integrity,” Matt answered. “See what we can dig up. We’ll build a case and we’ll get you to testify. Are you comfortable with that?”

“I’m willing to do what it takes,” she answered resolutely. 

“Then we’ll be in touch.” 

\--

“We probably shouldn't be taking money anyone's going to come looking for,” Karen said, somewhat uselessly as an envelope of cash sat on her desk.

“Honestly, Karen, we need the money. And they need the money. We'll make sure nothing happens to them,” Matt replied.

Karen did not look happy. “This is bad, Matt.”

“Everything’s bad,” he answered gloomily.

Client now out of the office, Matt turned to Eddie.

"You said you had trouble at your hotel last night. What happened?"

"Uh, well," Eddie paused to decide how to say it, "I think some people are trying to kill me."

"Oh god," Karen sighed, in a strange tone that seemed to say "_ been there." _

"I assume they're trying to bury my case. The bodies all disappeared from the coroner's office."

"What?" Now Karen looked grave.

"Dunno what happened. But I managed to get the original lab samples, so, those are being processed."

"Damn. That’s quite a connection," Karen looked slightly incredulous.

"We do okay," Eddie answered too casually over the paper coffee cup and swallowed anxiety at how weird that could have sounded.

"Blake Integrity gives us a lead,” Matt said, “and I think I may have another one. Echidna."

"Where did that come from?" Karen asked, keeping her voice even.

"Overheard someone say it. Talking about the tenements."

Karen was quiet for a moment, something dark reflecting on her face before she answered, "Okay, I'll look into it."

"I can help," Eddie perked up, ready to engage in something to get his mind off the still-fresh shock of being shot at.

"You should probably be laying low," Matt replied.

"I'll hole up here, do the research. Karen has better contacts than me anyway."

"I don't know about that,” Karen sighed. “But we'll see what we can find."

\--

“Matt, can I talk to you in the hall for a minute?”

“Uh, okay?”

Matt followed Foggy out of the office and into the stairwell. He laughed, either nervously or resentfully.

“What’s up?”

Foggy smiled with a conspiratorial look. “You and Eddie. You guys shaking up? Because I ship it.”

“What?” Matt played coy but he blushed.

“That's what the kids say these days,” Foggy explained. “Means I think you'd make a good couple.”

Matt laughed. “Really, Foggy? I barely know the guy.”

“And when has that ever stopped Matt Murdock from throwing himself blindly into an ill-advised relationship?”

“Maybe I'm trying to be better,” Matt countered.

“Self improvement? Ha! I'll believe it when I see it.”

“Ouch. Foggy, why do you care? Why’d you pull me into the hallway like a teenager?”

“Because it’s been awhile since you’ve had anyone. Okay? I’m still your friend. I’m allowed to be worried. You’re alone, you’re reckless.”

“Reckless?”

“More reckless than usual,” Foggy amended. 

Matt made a face indicating he did not appreciate this assessment.

“Matt, I saw you two making eyes at each other.”

“I don’t make eyes at people, Foggy,” Matt shot back.

“Okay but you do that thing where you smirk and - look, I know how you flirt, okay? And you were definitely flirting with Eddie at Hellcat Annie’s.”

“Foggy, we were drunk.”

“I saw him making eyes at you, Matt. I know you two like each other, I can tell.”

“Okay, maybe I kind of like him.”

“See?!”

“No,” Matt quipped. “I’m not _ sure _about him yet. There’s something weird about him, Foggy.”

“What do you mean?”

Matt sighed.

“Just tell me, Matt.”

“This is going to sound weird.”

“As opposed to what?”

“Okay, fine. He smells … weird.”

“He smells?”

“I can’t tell what he smells like.”

Foggy still wasn’t getting it. “Okay?’’

“He smells like nothing I’ve smelled before.”

“Okay, so he has fancy cologne?”

“No, it’s not like that, Foggy. It’s something - I can’t explain it, it’s something - weird.”

“Okay?”

“I’ll figure it out. Just - Look, I appreciate your concern. And if we - _ ship _, you’ll be the first to know.”

Foggy cackled, leaning over to put his hands on his knees.

\-----

Eddie was asleep on the couch. Venom was snug and warm inside him, watching his dreams to make sure nothing too unpleasant was touching his human. Right now Eddie was in deep sleep, and the dreams were little more than white noise he wouldn’t remember. Venom was comfortable, but restless. He was thinking of getting up to use Eddie’s laptop when the bedroom door slid open silently and Matt emerged carrying a duffel bag. 

He didn’t seem to be worried that Eddie would see him. Probably, he could hear the steady rhythms of Eddie’s sleep. Venom tried to temper his excitement, lest he disturb his human. He watched Matt glide soundlessly over the staircase to the roof exit. 

Once Matt had disappeared out the door, Venom surged forward quietly, and held the door barely open to see outside it. Matt was stripping out of the hoodie and sweats. Underneath he wore a black suit. From the bag, he pulled out boots and a helmet with subtle horns. He suited up quickly, leaving what he didn't need behind on the roof.

Suddenly, Matt was throwing himself off the edge of the roof. It scared Venom at first but he could track Matt’s movements until they left his range. Matt was Daredevil. 

Venom returned to Eddie, coiled up like a snake on his human’s hip and wondered if he should wake him. 

\---

Matt couldn't hear the footsteps of the ninja, and they had no heartbeat or breath to hear. But he knew the strange, cold, almost antiseptic smell of The Hand's "fingers." And now there was something else alongside it. Vaguely familiar. Like hot air, wet earth, rare metal. It was distinctly different from that alien smell on Eddie, but it was still _ alien _.

He had buried The Hand. They were leaderless. Cut off from their power source. That they were back could only mean that somehow those things had been replaced.

He was parrying blows from three attackers at once. He could feel where their strikes would be, he just needed an opening.

He dodged and rolled back, giving himself enough space for a roundhouse kick to the first one that approached him. He followed through with a brutal, leaping punch, and he felt bones snap. He threw himself against the next one, his shoulder slamming into its sternum and knocking it off balance. Follow through. A punch that knocked it down, a kick that kept it down. The last one he took down in a grapple and snapped its neck. 

He'd need to make a break for it before they got back up. He was cursing that now he'd have to be hypervigilant. There would be more.

\---

Eddie shivered in the cold, scrunching up his shoulders inside the hoodie. Venom rose from his skin to wrap around him inside the fabric and keep him warm. He was sitting on the roof of Matt’s apartment building.

“What are we doing, V?”

**I told you. We’re waiting for him to come back.**

“Are you sure about-”

**Yes. You already asked me that. Trust me, Eddie.**

“This is nuts. A blind guy running around as a vigilante?”

**We’ve seen weirder, Eddie.**

Eddie didn’t have a response for that, so he only sighed and shook his head.

“What if he doesn’t come back tonight? We’re just gonna sit out here?”

**He’ll come back before sunup.**

-

Matt was coming up the fire escape to his building when he noticed someone else was on the roof. A heartbeat, little whispers of chilled breath, and that vague smell of Earth and sky. Eddie. Matt paused, quickly trying to weigh his options.

**He's here**, Venom told Eddie, before either could actually see him.

"Matt?" Eddie stood and called into the dark.

Matt cursed silently before hauling himself up and onto the roof.

Eddie gasped and took an instinctive step back when the figure swung gracefully over the roof’s ledge.

"What the hell are you doing?" Matt’s voice was a growl behind the mask.

"You're Daredevil," Eddie’s voice was hoarse. Yeah, V had just told him that but - he couldn’t believe it.

"If you tell anyone -" Matt growled, stalking toward Eddie.

Eddie raised his hands, not knowing how else to show he didn’t mean harm. 

**Let's tell him, Eddie. Let's show him. He deserves to know.**

“Okay.” Eddie didn’t even think twice about it. 

Fair’s fair.

Matt _ felt _ Venom's transformation, felt this impossible thing happen in front of him. Eddie’s body taken over by alien matter, grown into a ten foot tall carnivore. That smell. The not-quite-ozone-and-petrichor. No longer a faint suggestion. Now it was overpowering. There was so much more to that smell now, but he couldn’t place any of it. It was alien.

**Hi**, was all Venom said. He raised one hand in an awkward wave.

"What … are you?" Matt extended a hand falteringly as if to touch Venom.

**Not what. Not a thing. Who are we? We are Venom.**

Matt’s tongue wet his lips nervously while he struggled for words. His extended hand shook, as if unsure it wanted to confirm the reality of Venom.

Venom lifted a hand slowly, and gently slid a single claw into Matt’s grasp.

“Oh, God -” Matt sighed, voice shaking with wonder.

**Let’s go inside. We’ll tell you everything.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ++Daredevil playlist:  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5HF2T0jqdjdqh0gVdjWCI3?si=X9RjkAGuQUu_l3cjbR2dbw  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAFhJzpyNZXNbJA6RtLaIf5b
> 
> \-- Symbrock playlist:  
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL3xA5sitGyAHSkFRianKONdH5XolMaUFq  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3gwV83dOMY5F7leokXMbhu?si=XlepYjgmTHK2JvdLEEfXXg

“You make a fool of death with your beauty, and for a moment  
I forget to worry”

( Florence + the Machine, “Hunger” )

\--

"So he _ is _ an alien." 

Matt looked as if his suspicions had been confirmed, and that was almost a little eerie.

"Yep," Eddie nodded. "The Life Foundation said they found him and a few others on a meteor. The way V tells me, there's a whole society of them. Traditionally, they function like parasites - drain a host, find another. V says they're conquerors, that they've taken out entire civilizations. They wanted to do that here."

"And you stopped them?" Matt supplied.

"Yeah. V didn't want to live that way anymore. He wanted a bond. Apparently in their culture they're not supposed to do it. Hosts are just food. They don't bond, they don't maintain a symbiosis."

Explaining Venom to someone was shockingly easy. He didn't know why. Maybe it was just Matt. His posture was attentive, his expression open and receptive. He looked like he had a million questions.

"Does he talk to you?"

"Constantly."

**That's not true, Eddie.**

Eddie laughed. "I'm just playing with you."

"Wait, are you teasing him?"

"He said it's not true that he talks constantly."

"You're _ friends _." Matt said it with a kind of awe that Eddie didn't grasp.

"He takes care of me. Feeds on some happy chemical in my brain."

Matt grinned. Something joyous yet bitter rose up in him and he had to smother it. _ What would it be like to never be alone? _

"So you got rid of these," Matt pushed forward, "_ bad _ symbiotes, and took down the Life Foundation. Have you two done anything else?"

"You mean like heroics?"

"Helping people."

"Some stuff around the neighborhood. I'm still teaching V the difference between "good" and "bad" people. Try to stop him from eating _ everything _."

"That's an important first step." 

Matt smiled, almost fondly, almost like he wasn't disturbed by the idea of a carnivorous symbiote.

"I bet the two of you could do a lot of good."

Eddie scoffed nervously. "Well, we're in a little bit of trouble right now. Trying to keep it low profile. Or, we were. We did get shot at across 10th avenue the other night."

"What happened? Something to do with why you came to New York?"

"Yeah. I took the assignment here because we needed to get out of The City. We, uh … we saved this kid from some cops. They were gonna hurt him. Venom, uh - ate them."

**Only the heads. Tell him that.**

"That doesn't matter, V."

"What's he saying?"

"Uh," _ god don't make me tell him that _.

But before Eddie could answer, Matt asked,

"Can I talk to him?"

A void-black tendril immediately reached out toward Matt from Eddie's chest. Matt raised a hand to it.

"It's okay," Eddie encouraged. 

Matt's fingers sank into the sleek black matter. Tiny tendrils stroked against his hyper sensitive skin. He felt how Venom rolled forward with his own momentum and clung to him, slightly sticky.

**Hi**, Venom greeted again, almost as if he was shy.

"Hi," Matt replied.

Eddie grinned.

**You're worried**, Venom observed.

"Yeah. Never met an alien before."

**It's okay. Eddie taught us to be nice.**

"He did, huh?"

**Yes.**

"So you're not going to hurt anyone while you're here?"

**Don't want to hurt anyone. But we’ll protect ourselves. Will protect the innocent.**

"What Eddie just told me about the cops. You did it to save a kid?"

**Yes. They wanted to hurt him. Would have hurt others. We can show you.**

Images flashed through Matt's mind from Venom's memory. A Black teenager scared for his life. A cop with a sun cross on his arm.

Matt nodded. "I get it." 

Matt took a deep breath, overwhelmed by the merge of consciousness.

"You did the right thing."

"Really?" Eddie asked, surprised. He was sure they'd get a thou-shall-not-kill lecture.

"Any sin can be redeemed. But not everyone values redemption."

Something pinged in the dormant Catholic part of Eddie's brain, but he didn’t want to think about it.

"Thank you," Matt told Venom and pulled his hand back from the tendril. 

Venom picked up the cue and retracted back to Eddie.

Matt felt his arm tingle for a lingering moment, and a shiver like a fever chill ran through him. He wondered briefly how Eddie felt with Venom enveloping his whole body.

"I can tell you have good intentions, Eddie," Matt finally decided, "and so does your friend."

"I call him my Other," Eddie replied, affectionately.

Matt smiled slowly. He could hear the warmth in Eddie's voice. Now that he had touched Venom, now that he was becoming familiar with his smell, he started to think maybe he could _ sense _ his presence in Eddie.

"Wait, how can you tell, though?” Eddie asked. "You said something like that the other day. And, how the hell is a blind dude running around like you do? I spilled, now you."

Matt braced himself for the inevitable "are you really blind?" but it didn't come.

"When I was a kid I was in an accident. There was a truck, carrying some kind of experimental chemical. It blinded me. But, it also caused my other senses to become enhanced over time."

"You ever find out what it was?"

"No."

"So, how do you - _ feel _ things?"

"It's a knowledge, like _ intuition _. It's like touching everything at once. Think about it like - if you closed your eyes, you could still find your way around a room you knew well. Like muscle memory. Except I can do that as soon as I walk in a room, even if I've never been there before. I can make a kind of map, in my mind. A part of it is almost like echolocation. Most blind people can do that to some extent, but for me it's more accurate. 

"I can pick up things people wouldn't even think about. Things that give them away. I can listen to someone's heartbeat and know if they're lying. I can smell it when someone sweats out of anxiety. Or guilt."

"Seems like too much. How could you even function?"

"At first it was too much. I developed ways to sort through it. Meditation helps. Concentration. Training. It was almost like learning another language, memorizing vocabulary. Cataloguing sounds, smells, how movements affect the air."

Eddie and Venom were both rapt, listening to him. They shared an ache in their chest.

"Do Karen and Foggy know?"

"Yes."

Eddie smiled slowly.

"Do they approve?"

"No," Matt replied.

And damn if that look on his face didn't give Eddie flashbacks to Sunday school. Martyrdom to perfection.

"That explains some of the looks around the office this morning," Eddie reasoned with a dry laugh.

"Yeah."

"And why you were so nonchalant about the mystery cash. Wherever that money came from, I have a feeling no one is going to come looking for it."

"Hopefully not. I'll be keeping an eye on Maya and her family for a while to make sure. But I think I made an impression."

"I bet you did," Eddie mused softly.

Eddie's eyes caught on Matt's face. The self satisfied smirk become slightly darker as he lifted his head toward Eddie's voice. 

Venom squirmed like butterflies in his stomach.

"You know," Eddie broached nervously, "I think we could make a good team."

**What happened to “low profile,” Eddie?**

_ We were chased out of our hotel, remember? I’m worried about him. He’s all alone. _

**He’s stayed alive this long.**

_ Shh. _

Matt should have jumped at the chance to have Venom as an ally. Especially if the Hand was back. But the defenses went up nevertheless.

"I can't really … get close to anyone right now."

Eddie didn't point out that Matt was keeping him rather close, regardless.

"Just now? Or always?" Eddie asked.

Just by hearing his voice, Matt could tell the expression on Eddie's face. Perceptive. Sympathetic. He couldn't say more, only inclined his face away from Eddie's gaze.

"Plenty of people have gotten hurt because of me," Eddie admitted. "They helped me, and that put them in danger. So I figured, if I just stayed away from them, they'd be safe. But it doesn't work. They care about you, and they just keep showing up anyway. Even when you tell them to stay away, _ especially _ when you tell them to stay away."

Eddie laughed, shook his head. Clearly he was thinking of someone. 

Matt thought of Karen and Foggy. How they _ keep coming back _ . He thought about how the veiled disapproving glances in the office got under his skin but also how they tugged a smirk out of his lips. A fondness bloomed in his chest even as nerves prickled in his gut. _ They know. And they keep coming back _.

Eddie's hand was anxiously hovering. He kept almost putting it back on his own leg, but then extending it by inches.

It was cute. The way Eddie's heart raced when Matt was near. Endearing. The way Eddie's hands shook and he huffed little sighs while trying to decide if he could offer Matt _ a touch _.

Finally, he only rubbed his palms on his jeans and kept talking.

"There's always a chance they could get hurt. But they could get hurt even if they never met you. You can't know that their safety relies on what you do - or don't do. You can never know that for sure. The truth is, they know the risk. And they chose it. They chose you. You have to honor that."

"I want to believe that you're right."

"But?"

"But it's hard," Matt sighed.

"Yeah."

"People have abandoned me. People have used me. People are dead because of me. And I have to have faith that it was all worth it. That God has a plan."

Matt felt Eddie's expression grow dour. A little sigh. Hanging of the head. Was it pity? Disapproval? He couldn't tell.

"I have to have faith that I _ deserve _ these people who keep coming back."

That was the heart of it, Eddie could tell. He understood.

"I have to accept that I can let them help. And -" Matt scoffed. "I can protect people, sometimes. But I can't keep them safe. Sometimes I feel paralyzed. It's so dangerous."

"Dangerous? Says the guy who fights in his pajamas?" Eddie jabbed.

Matt rolled his eyes, gave an exasperated sigh, but also a smirk.

"A warrior shouldn’t have room for emotion."

"Who told you that?" Eddie asked, incredulously as if Matt had claimed the Earth was flat.

"I’ve seen what happens to the people in my life when I make enemies."

"I think it’s deeper than that," Eddie replied.

"You’re smarter than you look, you know?" Matt deadpanned.

Eddie gave a surprised laugh and shook his head. Venom giggled and skipped through his veins. Matt smirked and looked almost smug. Then his face fell and he answered Eddie's question.

"The man who trained me when I was a kid. He wanted me to be a soldier. But he left, because I was too soft."

Eddie scoffed. "Sounds like you dodged a bullet to me. Wanting to make a kid into a soldier, that’s fucked."

"Maybe you’re right," Matt shrugged, looking almost defeated before he built himself back up to resolution. "You are right. I know that."

"And yet?"

Matt nodded. He was silent for a moment before he said, "It was right after my dad died. I was," he paused, "I was trying to fill the void."

Eddie nodded.

"My dad was a boxer. I always wanted him to teach me to fight, but he wouldn’t. He let me have gymnastics instead. Always said he didn’t want me to end up like him. So, when this guy showed up, started training me -" Matt struggled to complete the thought.

Eddie picked it up gently.

"Yeah. I get it.”

Eddie was staring down at his hands in his lap. Venom sprouted a claw from his wrist and laced his symbiote fingers with Eddie’s. It made Eddie smile.

“I guess some people think that love makes you weak but that's not my experience. When I'm alone, that’s when I'm soft. Scared, and acting like a caged animal. Love is what makes me strong. I'm lucky I don't have to be alone anymore."

"Because of your Other?" Matt asked. 

Again that thought bit at him: _ how would it feel to never be alone? _

"Yeah. I think that - being connected, it's not a liability, it's not a weakness. It's a challenge. But it’s a gift."

"What you're telling me is: it's worth it."

"Yeah. And don't you think that keeping the balance is a little _ invigorating _?"

"Says the man who's constantly tired?" Matt prodded.

Eddie guffawed. 

"Yeah. Actually. And, coming from the man who doesn't sleep? Pot, kettle."

Matt grinned. _ Oh _, he hadn't felt like this in a long time.

"I sleep," he insisted. "Sometimes."

"Wait, you said you meditate," Eddie recalled. "Can you teach me?"

\--

Sleep deprived from the late night, Matt and Eddie skipped the gym and showed up at the office just before noon. Foggy looked smug about it. They all sat down to review what Karen and Eddie had dug up the day before.

"So how surprised are you that Blake is a shell company?" Eddie asked.

He drank coffee steadily but his eyes were still heavy.

"Not at all," Matt answered.

Matt didn't seem any worse for the wear. He wasn't lying when he said he didn't need much sleep.

"Maya said she got a call," Foggy recalled, "so where did that come from?"

"I talked to some of Maya's neighbors," Karen began. "Most of them also got a call and disregarded it. Apparently it was a recorded message. One person kept the number. It's a Bronx area code but it's a dead end. It's unlisted and coming back disconnected."

"Shady," Foggy commented.

"Where does Echidna go?" Matt asked.

"We're working on that," Eddie answered. "It looks legit enough from the outside. Investment firm. But they’ve got “investments” all over the place. From real estate to genetic engineering experiments and nanotechnology.”

“That’s quite a client list.”

“You have no idea. We’re oversaturated,” Eddie sighed, and then drained his coffee cup.

“There’s a couple connections that raise suspicion about Echidna financing Blake Integrity, but very unlikely we will find any proof of it," Karen said.

“Why do you say that?”

“Several years ago there were reports of another real estate company buying up property in the Bronx. Research into that turned up the same thing, it was a shell. What we also turned up was some tax paperwork. The funding came from Echidna. Seems like they learned from their mistakes.”

“Chasing a convoluted paper trail of shell companies isn't a great sign,” Eddie remarked dryly as he returned to the table with yet another cup of coffee.

“Gives me a bad feeling,” Foggy mused.

“Yeah. Me too. Obviously whoever is involved knows how to hide their tracks,” Karen sighed and leaned back in her chair.

“Wait, where does the tech come in?” Matt asked.

“Echidna has been throwing money around for a long time, into all sorts of things,” Eddie answered. “But, their longest running partnership is with Typhon pharmaceutical. I'm not going to spiral into conspiracy theories but it seems plausible that genetic research may be of interest there.”

“Well, you kids keep at it,” Foggy turned back to his own desk. “I’ve got to start trying to build a case.”

“I’m going to check in with Maya and the kids. Karen, will you babysit him?” Matt gestured to Eddie.

“What, I’m gonna get into trouble?”

“Maybe.” Matt gave the smirk. 

Eddie bit his lip, and shook his head, trying to keep to himself what that smirk made him feel. 

Well after Matt left the office, as if waiting for him to leave hearing range, Karen turned to Eddie with a conspiratorial look.

“He likes you, you know.”

“Who?”

“Matt,” Karen laughed 

“How can you tell?”

“He does that flirty little smirk when you're around.”

“Oh? Have you had experience with the smirk?” Eddie asked, good naturedly but with an insinuating movement of his eyebrows.

“Some,” Karen replied, stone cold. “I'm over it though. Matt's cute but he's too much of a disaster for me.”

Eddie laughed. “Well, he could still do better than me.”

“He's done worse,” Karen shrugged.

“No. I don't believe you.”

“Okay, you're right. I was just trying to make you feel better.”

“Karen!” Eddie laughed. “Brutal.” 

**You’re not ** ** _that _ ** **bad, Eddie.**

Eddie had to stop himself from responding to V. He was getting comfortable with Karen, after a couple days cooped up doing research together. It felt absurdly familiar. Like wanting one of your friends to meet your other friend. Eddie kind of wanted to tell her right then about Venom - hell, Foggy too. He was going to list himself good reasons to _ not _ do so when his phone chimed.

"Text from the pathologist. Good, maybe we can start to get some answers.”

-

Eddie followed the same protocol to pick up the lab results as to drop off the samples. Once inside the warehouse, the assistant didn’t pay him much mind.

“It’s there,” was all they said, gesturing to a file and an envelope on a clean lab counter.

The envelope was clearly the samples. Eddie opened the file and tried to decipher the list of chemicals.

“Uh, you know, this isn’t my field. Do you think you could tell me what’s in here?”

“I’m sorry. We have a lot of clients. We keep our hands clean.”

They said it in a customer service voice as if used to repeating the phrase. They didn’t even break their concentration at a microscope. It was clear he wouldn’t get any more out of them.

He grumbled but took the file and envelope, shoving them into his hoodie.

“Thanks. Thank you,” he said somewhat snarkily as he left.

-

Back at the office, they unpacked the lab results.

“You understand any of that?” Eddie sipped office coffee and gestured to the file.

“Some of it.” Karen tucked hair behind her ear and made a note on a legal pad.

“You’re smarter than me.”

“Well, we already knew that,” Karen smirked.

Venom giggled and Eddie rolled his eyes.

They spent the afternoon pouring over the results. Fruitless searches, dead ends, and backtracking ensued. It was nearly 9pm when Karen said the magic words:

“I think I found something.”

Eddie looked up from their take out dinner.

“There’s _ a lot _of stuff I don't understand in here, but I can spot a match. All the bodies had three particular isotopes in common. The fun part is," she led sardonically, "these isotopes don't exist. I can't find anything on them. So now we just have to figure out what that means.”

“Okay, well, I can’t see straight anymore so that sounds like tomorrow’s research. Wanna go for a drink before we call it a night?”

Karen looked like she was still fresh enough to stay at it for hours. She pursed her lips and looked like she was thinking of a polite excuse.

“On me,” Eddie added, standing and reaching for his coat.

“Well, when you put it like that.” Karen stood and stretched. “I am supposed to be babysitting you, after all.”

-

They were waiting on a cab when Eddie noticed a woman walking toward them who looked familiar, but he couldn’t place her. She looked tired and unwashed, wearing mismatched clothes like you might get from a shelter. She made her way slowly down the sidewalk, eyes darting around like she was looking for something.

Eddie couldn’t stop himself, he approached her to ask, “do I know you?”

The woman looked back at him strangely. 

Her voice sounded odd when she said, "do we know you?" 

Almost like she was mimicking Eddie, but not quite.

"We?”

“You - are you?” 

The woman seemed to recognize him suddenly. She grabbed his arm, saying, “please, help.”

"What do you need?"

"Show us how!"

"What? How to what?"

Suddenly the woman's body convulsed and she slapped her hands over her ears. 

"No, no, no, no-"

"What? What's going on? Tell me, please?" 

Eddie grabbed the woman by the shoulders.

She looked up into his face and told him:

"Go to Throgs Neck. Under the sound."

"Wait. What does that mean?"

"NO! They're here! I'm sorry. I have to run."

The woman tore out of Eddie's grip and bolted across the street, dodging traffic. Her movements were almost preternaturally fast. Slightly jerky, as if she was being controlled.

"Oh my god-" Eddie and Karen muttered, nearly in unison.

Venom was unusually silent. 

_ V? _ Eddie reached out silently to his Other.

Venom did not reply. A first.

Eddie was going to prod his Other when something hit him.

"HOLY SHIT."

"Jesus," Karen startled. "What?"

-

{ West 54th Apartments, 6A }

Eddie dashed across the room and sifted through his notes near the table. He pulled out the original manila envelope that Allie had given him, which now only held the autopsy photos. He pulled out one of the large, glossy photos. He looked at it briefly, looking both slightly triumphant and deeply disturbed. He held it up for Karen to see.

"Oh my God, that's her," Karen gasped immediately.

It was the woman on the street.

"They didn't lose the bodies, they ran away!" Eddie blurted, not bothering with _ how _such a thing might happen.

"What does that mean?" 

"I don't know! Uh, what did she tell us?"

"Throgs Neck. Under the sound."

"The bridge, right?"

"Yeah where the east river becomes the -"

"Long Island sound," they realized in unison.

"The bridge could be an access point. Maybe that's where they ran away from."

Pieces were starting to click together in Eddie's mind. The way the woman had spoken was odd and yet familiar. Eddie wanted to talk to Venom about all of it. He was thinking about what he could silently ask his Other when Matt returned.

With an equally disturbed Eddie and Karen in his apartment, Matt only stood at the end of the hall and asked dryly, "what's up?" 

He waited for someone to clue him in.

"We met someone on the street," Eddie began, "She's one of the victims, the bodies that went missing from the morgue."

"Wait, you mean she's alive? And you talked to her?" Matt took a step into the living room.

"Yeah. She looked rough, like someone was chasing her."

"She told us to go to Throgs Neck," Karen interjected. "She said, 'under the sound.'"

"Throgs Neck bridge runs over the Long Island sound," Matt replied immediately. 

"Yeah, that's what we figured."

"Maybe the bridge is an access point to something underground," Eddie supplied.

"Could be. The bridge has underground maintenance tunnels."

Neither Eddie nor Karen questioned Matt on _ how _ he knew that.

"Karen, you ought to head home. We'll get back to work on this in the morning."

Karen knew he meant, 'get out of here so I can go be Daredevil.' She only gave him a disappointed look and told him "be safe," as she walked past him to the door.

"Sounds like this could be our break." Matt said, once Karen had left.

"Yeah," Eddie replied. "We should go check it out."

Eddie still wanted to talk to Venom about it, but there was adrenaline running through him now and he was ready to _ do _something. 

"I'll go check it out," Matt told him dismissively.

"Really?" Eddie tilted his head dramatically, wearing a smile that was about to break out in a laugh.

"What?"

"You're gonna go alone? You think I'm going to let you?"

"Thanks for the concern but I’m fine."

"We’re coming with you."

"No."

"You think you can tell us no? Of course we are."

"No."

"Really, Matt? I share my body with a carnivorous alien. We’re your back-up."

**We got you**, Venom manifested a face next to Eddie’s so they could both look sternly at Matt.

Matt sighed, rolled his eyes.

“What, you're worried about me?”

“Yes,” both Eddie and Venom answered together.

Matt could feel how earnest they both were. He’d be damned to ask for help, and would refuse it if offered. But they weren’t offering. They were telling. And he would take that.

“Alright. Let’s go.”

Eddie followed Matt through the roof exit. Once on the roof, Matt didn’t even wait for them to follow, or tell them where he was going. He pulled the billy clubs from his holster and let one fly. It snagged on an adjacent fire escape. Matt threw himself off the roof and swung on the line over to the other building. Eddie and Venom watched in shock.

**Whoa.**

Eddie had the same thought as seeing Matt that first morning in his apartment. _ Who the hell is this guy? _ Except he knew now. He was Daredevil.

\--

They didn't make it to Throgs Neck. 

Venom followed Matt across rooftops. Apparently he could traverse nearly the entire island this way. He seemed to know them all intimately. He flew across various pieces of equipment, rolled under piping. He knew where he could climb to get a boost for the next jump. Venom and Eddie were downright clumsy by comparison. Eddie just tried to make sure they didn't break anything, while Venom kept them loping along in Matt's wake, just trying to keep up with him.

They were in Hunts Point. Matt was one building ahead of them. He was out of their sight for only a second when several figures stepped out of hiding.

**Shit**.

"Oh, shit."

Venom was calculating how to take out their attackers but Eddie was all one thought: _ we have to help Matt. _

Venom grabbed up the first one to attack him and bit off the head. He instantly regretted it. Hastily, he spit out the head, retching a little.

**This is dead.**

_ What? _

More rushed forward. Venom swatted them away with arms and tendrils and Eddie got a look at them. Ninja?

**Something's not right, Eddie**

_ Yeah, we're being ambushed by ninja in New York. _

**No, Eddie. Something is wrong with them.**

_ What's that mean? _

**I don't know. They feel wrong.**

_ V, what are you trying to tell me? _

**They feel like me, Eddie! Like symbiotes. But also different. I don't understand it.**

_ What? _

Suddenly Venom cried out in pain, but it wasn't their pain.

“Shit!” Eddie tried to get eyes on Matt through Venom's panic.

Venom was galloping across the roof before Eddie could even pick anything out of the gloom. When they reached the other rooftop, Eddie could see Matt. He was being overwhelmed by the ninja, still fighting even with a sai lodged in his ribs.

**Matt!**

Venom's voice rang through their bond as he swiped a huge hand across the space between him and Matt, sending four ninja flying off the roof at once. He grabbed another in each hand and threw them away. 

There were four more on Matt's other side. Two came in close to Matt and he dodged their attacks. Another used a blowgun, sending a dart streaking toward Venom but they easily dodged it and sent out a tendril to knock the ninja backwards off the rooftop.

Another dodged the tendril and sent out a ranged chain weapon toward Matt. It caught him around the throat and the ninja dragged him backwards.

**No!**

Venom instinctively sent a tendril out to shelter Matt's body. It climbed along the chain weapon back to the attacker and shook the ninja loose, again knocking them over the roof ledge. The tendril gently unfurled the chain, leaving Matt gasping for air.

The last two looked like they weren't sure _ how _to deal with Venom. And Venom had enough. One giant claw scooped up both ninja and threw them off the roof.

Matt was barely conscious, but still making painful attempts to haul himself to his feet. Venom still held him, symbiote matter tightening around him the more he struggled to break free of it.

“Hey, hey,” Eddie and Venom separated partially, letting Matt see Eddie's face while Venom still remained coiled around Matt. 

“Just relax, okay," Eddie put his hands on Matt's chest.

“No,” Matt growled.

**Matt, stop moving**, Venom growled back. 

The symbiote was trying to attend to the blade lodged in Matt's ribs, but felt more enemies descending on them.

**More coming!**

“Shit. There’s more of them coming. We gotta go, now,” Eddie's voice was sharp with panic.

“No,” Matt still grumbling. He didn't know how to back down.

“Oh, for Christsakes, will you stop already!” 

Venom took over before Eddie could say anymore.

**We got you**, Venom told Matt as they picked him up. 

He couldn’t struggle much in the symbiote’s grip. Venom used tendrils to secure Matt to their own body, and then leapt off into the night.

They climbed a tall building and scouted the area. Venom may not have known the city well, but Eddie did, and he navigated them away from where even more ninja were now pouring out onto rooftops. They stayed near the waterfront, moving south across Randalls island and crossing the bridge into Astoria.

When it seemed safe enough, they landed on a tall, empty rooftop and gently let Matt go. His wound was bleeding considerably. Venom kept pressure on it, but needed time to help it heal.

“Oh, Jesus,” Eddie whimpered, his hands trembling.

**Eddie, we can help him.**

Venom would have to bond with Matt completely to heal the wound. Meaning, he would have to leave Eddie alone for a while.

“Do it.”

Eddie watched the last of the symbiote's matter roil across his skin and crawl towards Matt. 

Matt’s consciousness was fading, but he could feel the symbiote holding him, Venom's mind reaching out to him. 

“Wha -” Matt tried to speak but his voice broke into a hoarse growl.

**I got you. Rest now.**

Venom’s strangely comforting voice rumbling through his mind was the last thing Matt heard before he lost consciousness.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- Mild Sexual Content ---

Move your feet to the rhythm

hear the sinner's advice

if it runs through your veins,

no need to keep it quiet

(Speakeasies’ Swing Band, “Sinner’s Advice”)

Matt woke up without pain for the first time he could remember. It felt _ wrong _. It almost made him panic, his hands leaping to his ribs to feel only old scars. He breathed in deeply; no ache of bruised ribs or catch of a wounded lung. He touched his throat and his skin was perfect, not even an itch. He swallowed and his throat felt smooth. Even the bruises he'd been carrying from days ago were no longer sore.

_ Venom _. 

Venom healed him.

-

**We really like Matt.**

Venom bubbled inside him warmly. He felt a little manic, like when he ate too much chocolate.  
“Yeah, I know. You don’t have to tell me, love, I know.”

Eddie smiled softly, standing at the kitchen sink and watching through the window pigeons fluttering around the fire escape.

**Maybe we can stay here, Eddie. Be with him.**

“It’s not that simple, V.” 

**But you want him, Eddie. We want him.**

“Venom!" 

Eddie kept himself from raising his voice, knowing Matt was in the other room.

"That is enough," he hissed sternly. "Stop being my fucking id.”

Venom balked, feeling chastised.

**What's that mean, Eddie?**

“Look it up.”

A small face and tendrils formed from Eddie's back, the tendrils carefully taking Eddie's phone from his back pocket. Venom grumbled while he read the theory behind the term. 

“You know, you two are pretty cute together.”

Matt emerged from the bedroom. He’d probably heard Eddie’s side of their conversation easily.

**Matt!**

Venom rushed toward Matt, excited as a puppy. Eddie worried that V would scare the poor guy, but Matt actually smiled. Venom’s upper half was manifest, and leaning over the kitchen bar. Matt sauntered into the kitchen and scratched Venom’s head like a pet. Venom nuzzled against Matt's bare shoulder.

“You’re making me breakfast?”

“Don’t get used to it,” Eddie joked.

Matt only smirked, and returned to his morning routine.

**I don't get it, Eddie.**

“What?”

**Id.**

“Yeah it's okay, no one does.”

**But what did ** ** _you_ ** ** mean, Eddie?**

Eddie watched Matt close the bathroom door before he spoke.

“What I mean is instinct. Okay, V. People can't function on instincts alone. We have to be considerate. We have to think about our actions and how they would impact other people. I know you're excited about working with Matt, but -”

**He likes you, too, Eddie. I can tell.**

“Yeah, well then maybe something will happen. But right now I'm trying to keep it professional, okay? We've got bigger things to worry about. Just cool it for a while, okay, V?”

**Yes, Eddie. I understand.**

\--

"So what the fuck ambushed us last night?"

"An organization called the Hand."

"You've dealt with them before?"

"I thought I had gotten rid of them.”

“How can there be that many of them?”

"That's a very fucking good question. When I fought them before they used some kind of substance to resurrect their soldiers. But we took them out, and we made sure they couldn’t make more. For them to be back now,” Matt sighed. “Something big is happening.”

“Awesome,” Eddie deadpanned. “Can’t get enough trouble.”

After a silent moment, Matt broached, "Venom?"

**Matt.**

"Thank you. For helping me last night."

Venom purred and coiled around Matt's wrist. 

**Keep you safe.**

Matt gave a sad little smile as something he couldn't quite place grew up in him, threatening to overwhelm him.

"How much do you remember?" Eddie asked.

"Getting beat the hell up. Punctured lung. And then Venom," he paused. What could you even call what Venom did? "_ Holding me _," he continued. "And then waking up without a scratch."

"You bonded," Eddie told him. His voice held a weight but Matt wasn't sure what it meant.

"Like what you have?" Matt asked.

Venom was slowly undulating around Matt's arm in gentle caresses, his tendril reaching out from Eddie's body.

"Yeah. But not for very long. Just enough to get you patched up."

"Better than patched up. I think he healed a cut I got last week. You okay, Eddie?" Matt suddenly asked.

"Mmm?" Eddie grumbled behind a cup of coffee.

"You seem _ off _."

Eddie raised his eyebrows, setting down the cup on the table. 

"I don't know how you're so casual. We got ambushed by ninja last night. You almost died."

Matt half-smiled with a peculiar familiarity in his expression. "Guess I'm used to it."

Eddie averted his gaze, ran a nervous hand through his hair.

"You're worried about me," Matt observed.

Eddie had to catch himself from exploding, emotions he didn't realize he was holding suddenly rising to the surface.

"_ Of course _ I'm worried about you. You're so -" Eddie grit his teeth and his arms flexed in frustration. " _ Reckless _." Then he stopped, took a deep breath, and shook his head. "I'm not gonna give you a lecture. You've been doing this long before I ever showed up."

Matt took Eddie's hand, and the touch felt so natural that it took Eddie a moment to react to it. Then he just stared. Their gently linked fingers and Venom's tendril spiraling down Eddie's arm, across their hands, and up to Matt's bicep.

"Thank you," Matt told him, eyes locked on Eddie's face to let him know he really meant it. "Thank you for going with me last night. Thank you for helping me."

There was a moment of sweet romantic tension before Matt suddenly shivered and made a face that looked somewhere between pleasure and shock.

"_ What _was that?" 

Venom had pulsed with excited little movements, his matter shifting and roiling against their skin. To Eddie it was like a brush of fabric, to Matt it held varying temperatures and delightful little pinpricks of inexplicable sensation.

Eddie tried to hide a grin, but he licked his lips and only succeeded in feeling even more suggestive.

"He gets excited," Eddie explained, butterflies in his stomach. 

“You know, he makes a good wingman,” Matt chuckled.

Venom’s tendril, slowly undulating, tickled the inside of his arm.

“Well, it’s more than that,” Eddie said before he could think about it. 

Matt looked expectant, quirking a brow and waiting for Eddie to elaborate.

“Venom and I are together. Romantically.”

Matt looked surprised for only a split second, and then a recognition lit his face and he laughed.

"What?" Eddie asked.

"I just remembered something," Matt replied, grinning.

"What?" Eddie was racking his brain and it hit him just before Matt said it.

"First day you went to the gym with me. I could tell that you -"

Eddie blushed and rubbed his neck. 

"Yeah. Sorry about that. It was V's idea, I told him it was creepy."

"Uh huh. Sure. Bet that's a convenient excuse," Matt teased. "It was kinda hot, actually."

Venom was giggling and Eddie felt so embarrassed he could die.

"Some people might say it's creepy that I could smell it from the next room."

Venom growled.

"It's kinda hot, actually."

Matt bit his lip, dragged in a deep breath and coughed out an awkward laugh.

"When Venom bonded with me -" Matt broached, not knowing quite how to ask what he was thinking. "Could he be with both of us at once?" 

Eddie saved Matt from thinking too long on how that sounded.

"No, one bond at a time. When he bonded with you last night he had to leave me for a while."

"Did that feel strange? Being without him?"

"It wasn't for very long." 

Matt could tell that was bluster for his benefit; he could tell Eddie was affected by this.

"But, yeah, it felt -" Eddie stopped and sighed. "I dunno, it felt weird, I guess. We haven't been separated in a long time."

Eddie felt a sensation like a warm hug from the inside and he smiled, closed his eyes. 

Matt could feel an echo of that emotion through Venom's touch on his arm, and it felt like standing in the sun.

\--

Matt and Eddie did the morning routine of coffee and the gym. Eddie used the opportunity to return to a lifting regimen he'd mostly abandoned since bonding with Venom. When they got to the office, Matt and Foggy did case work and Eddie and Karen picked up the research into the lab results. Eddie mostly stayed cooped up in the office while the others ran their errands. Karen meeting with potential sources and Matt and Foggy doing their various case work. It was late in the afternoon when Karen returned triumphant.

"I found the isotopes."

"Holy fuck. My hero."

"Yeah, I had to pull a couple favors." Karen shrugged off her coat and brought a file with her over to where Eddie sat. "All the isotopes were patented by Typhon Group."

"Called it."

"But that is only the tip of the iceberg. They originated in an AIM lab." 

Karen said it like Eddie should know what that meant. He clearly didn't.

"Advanced Idea Mechanics. International, very shady. Bioweapons research, arms sales, stuff like that. Now, I didn't get IDs on all the victims but I found our mystery woman."

"Holy shit, Karen."

"Dr. Julissa Patras. She was a researcher at the AIM lab. She worked with these isotopes. I talked to her partner, who said Dr. Patras left something for her in a safe deposit box. A thumb drive. She'd only looked at it once, made a copy of it. She didn't do anything with the information. She said she knew AIM would come after her if she went public. But she gave me the copy."

"Holy shit."

"I promised her we wouldn't print anything connecting the information back to her or Dr. Patras, and that we were looking at legal action, not an expose. I told her we would look into a wrongful death settlement."

"Yeah, if Dr. Patras was actually dead."

"She had a smoking gun. That's what was on the thumb drive. She was going to blow the whistle on the AIM operation."

"So they took her out."

"Exactly. I think the other two may have been 'test subjects,' and they were experimented on in that AIM lab. The pathology reports showed that the combination of isotopes hadn't been in her system as long as the other two.”

“So someone turned the research on her.”

“Looks like it."

“Throgs Neck could be the location of the lab.”

“It's possible.”

“Karen! You’re amazing. We’ll be sharing a byline on this one."

“No. Absolutely not. I don’t want my name on this.”

“What?”

“All of this - Blake, Echidna, Typhon. I found the connection. It all goes back to Hydra.”

“Hydra?”

“Yeah. Officially it hasn't existed since the 50s. After the war, Hydra broke into subsidiaries. The largest is AIM, which just continued the development of weapons Hydra began under the nazis.” 

“Jesus.”

“But all of this shows they've got their hands in a lot more. Real estate, investment, pharmaceuticals. It's an empire. We really stepped in it this time. This could bury all of us. These people should be able to take us out anytime they want. But they haven't. They're playing with us somehow. Using us for something. I know you're not going to listen to me, Eddie, but -”

“No, no, no. Don't tell me to quit.” 

“I’ve got enough people who want to kill me. You’re taking the heat on this, Eddie. It’s all you.”

“Jesus, Karen. You must have really seen some shit.”

“Yeah. Shit I’ll be seeing the rest of my life.”

“Are you sure, though? You basically did my work for me here.”

“I’m sure. I’m out of this, Eddie. I don’t want to go back. I’m not trying to get killed for the truth. Just dealing with whatever the boys drag in is enough.”

“Well, I owe you for this. At least let me buy you dinner or something?”

"No. I'm not going anywhere after this," she gestured to the file containing their "smoking gun."

"Well, you can't just sleep here."

"I can minimize the risk. It's just "here" and "home" for me."

"Well, I mean, don't you think that if somebody was gonna -"

Karen shook her head and held up a hand. "No. I can't think about that. I have here and home."

"Then we'll order in."

-

"So, you can tell me if this is none of my business," Karen broached over their take out, "but it seems like you and Matt are getting close."

Eddie thought about Matt touching his hand that morning as they ate breakfast. Matt telling him that he knew what they’d done in the gym. He blushed and Karen smiled at it.

"Is it obvious?"

"It's not a bad thing. It's just that Matt doesn't really date. I actually think you could be really good for him."

"Did you two date?"

"We _ entertained _ the idea for a while. It didn't really work."

"Because of Daredevil?"

Karen's jaw dropped.

_ Oh shit _ . Eddie didn't realize he was this bad at keeping secrets, but he supposed he never had many secrets to keep. _ She doesn't know I know. Shit. _

"Matt told you?"

"Well, we sort of _ found out _."

"We?"

_ Should we tell her, V? _

**Matt trusts her. There’s no reason she shouldn’t know. She’s a friend, Eddie.**

"We have abilities too."

"We? What does that mean?"

"I share my body with an alien."

Eddie opened his hand, palm up, and a tiny little blob of Venom formed there, making a small face and waving a tiny hand at Karen.

Karen's face lit up and she set her food down to focus her attention on the Venom blob in Eddie's hand.

"Oh my god," she muttered. 

She leaned in close and offered a finger to the blob. Venom shook her finger in a tiny handshake. It made her giggle.

"He’s not usually that cute. Usually he's - he's terrifying. But he likes you. He's trying not to scare you."

The Venom blob grew slowly in Eddie's hand, daring to take up more space in front of Karen.

"Does he have a name?"

"Venom. I call him my Other."

"You said you share your body?"

"Yeah. He needs a host. Well, really, he's supposed to eat me for breakfast but he decided he liked it here. Wanted to stay with me. So, yeah, he lives in my body."

"And Matt knows?" Karen asked.

Eddie nodded.

"No wonder you seem close. You're keeping each other's secrets." Karen shot a look up at Eddie. "Though maybe not very well," she teased with faux-chagrin.

Eddie laughed. "I'm sorry. Matt told me you knew. I forgot you didn't know that I know."

"It's okay. How do you feel about that? Daredevil."

The first thing that sprang to Eddie's mind was _ it's hot _ but what he said was, "it's incredible."

"Don't you feel _ concerned _ for him?"

Eddie decided _ not _ to tell Karen about their fight with the Hand.

"Sure. But there's not a whole lot I can do. He's going to make his own decisions."

Karen nodded silently, pursing her lips in thought. 

"Matt can be unreliable, but Daredevil."

She looked uncomfortable, almost resentful. 

"You can always count on Daredevil." 

She said it bitterly, as if the words stung her.

"You mean, you can always count on Matt to put Daredevil first," Eddie read between the lines.

Karen’s eyes met Eddie's, and he could see the hurt in them. Matt had let her down. Daredevil had probably saved her life. That was a lot of emotion to process.

"For me," Eddie sighed, "that’s not a problem. I understand it. I want him to put Daredevil first. It’s what he’s meant for. That sounds creepy out loud."

"No." Karen laughed. "Well, I mean - yeah, but I get it. I don’t understand _ why _, but I know he’ll never stop being Daredevil."

"It’s not the same, but, I can relate. It’s like having a destiny. It’s something you cling to. Maybe it makes you feel important, I don’t know. It’s something to _ do _, something only we can do."

"You make it sound easy."

"It’s not easy, it just is. It's better. It's worth it."

"That's what Matt said about his - his abilities. Better than sight."

"When we joined, me and Venom - for a while I thought I was losing my mind. I thought I was losing myself. But I’m not. I chose it. I like it. Matt’s that way, too. He likes it too much to ever quit. If he ever quit, he’d feel empty. If he quit he’d be racked with guilt."

Karen nodded. She knew. She understood. If she had abilities like they did, she would use it too. Without hesitation. But she could help. And that was enough. 

“When Matt wanted us to be together, he tried to tell me that he could stop being Daredevil. I didn’t believe him for a second."

Eddie snorted, smirking.

"He was really trying, but I knew it would never work. I knew he couldn’t leave it behind. I think you’re right. He needs it. It’s something only he can do. And you also have something only you can do. Well, you and Venom. Just be careful."

"We're not."

They both laughed, but Karen's was bitter.

"He held my hand this morning. Matt," Eddie blushed.

"Oh my god, you're practically married!" Karen ribbed.

Eddie laughed. "Sometimes I have to remind myself I've only been here two weeks."

"Sometimes it happens like that. All at once. Can I ask what it's like? Being with your Other?"

"Do you wanna talk to him?"

"Yeah."

Karen caught movement that looked almost like a speckled black python gliding across Eddie's shoulder. Venom's shape was more nebulous, but he retained a vaguely snakelike appearance, but he didn't behave or move like a snake. 

"Venom?" she asked, gaze locked on opalescent eyes too large for the face.

**Yes, Karen?**

"What do you like about living with Eddie?" 

**Chocolate**, he answered instantly.

"What do you miss the most about your home?"

Venom's python-like head quirked, like he was surprised at the question.

**Shared consciousness. What did you call it, Eddie?**

"What, like a 'hive mind'?"

**Yes, that. We have a bond with Eddie. It's different with our own people.**

"Other symbiotes," Eddie clarified.

Suddenly his face fell and he seemed to realize something.

_ Wait, V, what aren't you telling me? _

**Maybe they're symbiotes.**

"Of course."

"What?" Karen asked.

"Symbiotes. What if they're making them in that lab?"

"Symbiotes?"

"Uh, yeah, that's what the Life Foundation called V when they found him. His kind, they called them symbiotes. That's gotta be it. V, you could tell when we saw Dr. Patras on the street, couldn't you?"

**Yes, Eddie. Felt wrong. But, familiar.**

Silently Eddie asked, _ did it feel the same when we fought the ninja? _

**Yes, Eddie**, Venom answered silently through their bond.

_ Like they were the same thing? _

**Yes.**

"I don't know how, maybe they're cloning them, I don't know. But that has to be it. It puts all the pieces together. The bodies leaving the morgue, Patras saying "we" when we saw her. God, it makes sense. The patented isotopes must be part of it. Wait - did our smoking gun say anything about this?"

"Well, I didn't see the word symbiote. It was vague language, they gave test subjects numbers."

Eddie ran a hand through his hair. “Jesus, we’re going to have to get into that lab.”

-

Eddie made sure Karen got home, and then returned to Matt's apartment. Matt wasn't home. He almost wanted to worry, but he was too tired.

-

**Eddie.**

"Hmm?"

Matt strode through Eddie's field of vision. In those red lace-up boots.

"Jesus," Eddie startled and sat up, rubbing groggy eyes. "You went without us?"

"Yes."

"Well, I'm glad you're alive. No ninja tonight?"

"They're guarding Throgs Neck. They won't come into Hell's Kitchen. They're under someone's orders." 

"Then we have to figure out what they’re guarding."

"Exactly."

"You get it fixed?" Eddie asked, noting the suit was conspicuously pristine after taking damage from their ambush the previous night.

"I have a spare," Matt answered casually.

"Of course you do."

Matt was unwrapping the sparring tape from his wrists. He sat to unlace the boots. And then he was stripping out of the suit in front of Eddie and just letting him _ stare _. Letting him see the deep scars running across his back and shoulder. 

Eddie's heart picked up, thumping hard and fast as Matt stripped down to black boxers. Eddie's gaze dragged across perfect muscle, and angry lines that boldly marred an immaculate canvas. Old scars stained Matt's ribs and hips. Then he turned, and Eddie could see the dozens of scars etched across his chest. It was the first time he'd gotten a look up close. 

“Holy fuck. No wonder you don't flinch.”

Matt gave a wry smile in Eddie’s direction. 

“You know, it’s not that I’m used to the pain, or that I can block it out. It’s just that I like it.”

There were a few bruises blossoming across his arms and ribs from whoever he'd been fighting that night. Venom growled through Eddie's mind. He didn't have to say it. Eddie knew. _ Hungry _.

Eddie caught himself staring, and quickly averted his gaze. Venom was trying to move him forward, to Matt. 

“Ah, shit, sorry.” 

Eddie stood from the couch and stepped away from Matt, still averting his eyes.

“You don't have to do that.” Matt's voice was soft, inviting.

“I really do.” 

“What, you think I'm sexy or something?”

Eddie didn't need to see Matt’s face to know that he was wearing the smirk. 

"You're sending me mixed messages, here, Murdock. The other night it was ‘I can't get close to anyone.’”

"Guess I changed my mind," he said softly. "Or you changed it."

Matt took a step closer.

"Eddie. Look at me.”

Eddie did as he was told, and between his own desire and Venom's, it was almost too much to bear.

“Ah, shit, I - I should go," Eddie raised his arms in an instinct to communicate "hands-off," but he couldn't move and he couldn't take his eyes off Matt.

Matt crossed the room, homing in on him.

“No. You should stay,” Matt told him plainly, a warm expression across his face. 

Matt took a step closer. He could hear Eddie's heart hammering in his chest, could smell his arousal. Could hear and smell and _ feel _ his breath. He wanted to taste it. He was more than ready to get all caught up in Eddie Brock.

"I want you. And I want V.”

Matt slid a hand along Eddie's neck.

**Matt.**

Matt could hear Venom purr and whimper his name.

“Venom.”

Eddie watched Matt’s face.

“You can hear him?”

Matt’s hands stroked Eddie’s bare arms, pulling his hands down to Matt’s hips. He nodded.

"When I touch you.”

An excited shiver ran through Eddie. 

“Oh, jesus,” he sighed, eyes fluttering.

Together, Venom and Eddie grabbed Matt by the waist and pulled him close into a bruising kiss. Matt reciprocated, his arms hooking over Eddie’s shoulders, and his mouth working aggressively. Eddie was a little flustered at the way Matt bit at his lips and bowed his body to roll their hips together. Venom was emboldened, and that confidence seeped into Eddie.

Eddie pushed Matt against the wall. He spread Matt’s legs with his knee and let Matt rut against it. He swore Matt was trying to devour him. He was used to the treatment from Venom, but he didn’t think he’d ever feel it from another human. He dimly wondered how out of touch he was. What did people even do with each other? 

Matt grabbed his ass, grinding their hips together, bucking against Eddie so relentlessly as to shatter every thought in his mind. Eddie growled and bit at Matt’s neck on instinct.

“That's good. Don't be gentle,” Matt murmured, his head falling back against the wall to expose his neck. 

Eddie’s eyes went wide and he stammered, ultimately saying nothing in response and simply taking a deep breath. He felt a little dizzy, at once in disbelief and overwhelmed by Matt’s passion, their hips still rolling together. Eddie was rubbing against him out of instinct, following the sensations pulsing between them.

“What if I'd rather be gentle?” Eddie asked, stroking fingertips across Matt's ribs.

“Then I’ll be patient,” Matt answered wolfishly.

"You? Patient? I don't buy it." 

Eddie pulled away to snark. Matt was squirming against him, the utter opposite of patient.

Venom sent a tendril to encircle Matt’s neck, squeezing gently.

**I got you.**

Venom's tendrils caressed Matt’s body on their way to restraining Matt's wrists behind his back. It made his body tremble and writhe, tendrils leaving a pleasurable tingle in their wake.

“Or maybe I can have both,” Matt murmured before Eddie’s lips collided with his again.

Eddie dropped a hand to grab Matt’s ass and he watched Matt moan and squirm into the touch. 

“God, Matt.”

“Please, Eddie. I need more. Please.”

A jolt of power shot through Eddie. He wasn’t used to this. It was one thing when Venom begged for him like that. V would do anything Eddie wanted, and he knew what Eddie wanted usually before Eddie did. But Matt. Matt with his eyes barely open and Venom holding him bound against the wall so that he couldn’t even undress Eddie the way he clearly wanted to. 

_ Venom. _ Eddie called through their bond and his Other was instantly attentive.

**Eddie**.

Venom's holds on Matt's hands and throat consolidated and anchored him to the wall. Matt gasped when the symbiote snapped to attention, responding to his Other. He could feel the mood shift. Venom was spread out over nearly his entire body. It made Matt groan and tremble, overwhelmed at the sensation of alien matter both constricting and caressing him. Venom held him tightly, rendering him immobile.

Venom's torso blob hid behind Eddie, his face peeking over Eddie's shoulder.

"Both of you need to slow the fuck down," Eddie's voice was stern, and Matt and Venom both responded to the authority in it.

Eddie took some room to breathe. He watched his Other undulate across Matt's body, the matter stretched taut almost like latex.

**He likes it, Eddie**, Venom told him.

_ Of course he does. _

"So what was your plan, Murdock? That was probably the clumsiest seduction I've ever seen."

_ God, _ but Matt liked Eddie talking like that; that edge in his voice.

Matt's shrug was ineffective, but it was on his face.

"Figured it wouldn't take much. We've been flirting since you got here. We know each other's secrets. We connected."

"Look, it's not that I'm not into this, because I'm _ really _ into it. But we should figure out a couple things first."

"I'm in no position to argue." 

Matt sounded almost boastful and it had Eddie thinking _ goddamn _ but it also fed the thrill of being in control. Knowing that Matt liked it so much.

"I don't do one night stands. Not even for you." 

Eddie's gaze rolled over Matt's body straining sensuously against Venom stretched over him.

"You really think this is anything less than a love affair?" Matt asked, breathlessly.

Eddie's face brightened but he deadpanned, "Oh no, you're a romantic too. We're doomed. I don't know, Murdock. You seduced me. The burden of proof is on you."

"I don't want a one night stand, Eddie."

"More."

"I wanna figure this thing out together, and when it's done I want you to stay."

"Stay here with you?"

Matt nodded, with weight.

"Do you get off on being Daredevil?"

Matt scoffed. "It's not like that. I like it, but it's not - its not like _ this _." Matt's body rocked inside Venom's grasp.

"I like the adrenaline,” he confessed. “I like feeling like I - like I'm doing what I was made for."

"What were you made for, Matt?"

"To use what I have." Matt's breath became heavy and jagged. "I'm trying to do something good with it."

"With what?"

"Everything that's inside me. The rage, and the noise, and the pain, when I'm out there it has a purpose. It's not chaos anymore, it's _ for _something."

"You put it ahead of everything, Matty. You'd put it ahead of me. And I don't mind that. Because I'd put Venom ahead of you. You don't need to seduce me, Matt. Just keep telling me the truth."

"I have. And I will. I promise."

Eddie set his palm against the wall, leaning in close to Matt but barely _ not close enough _, and let him squirm and flex in Venom's grasp, trying to bring his body in contact with Eddie's.

Eddie let his thumb trace Matt’s jaw, his lips. God, he was perfect. Matt opened his mouth, his tongue inviting. Eddie was entranced, placing the pad of his thumb on Matt’s tongue. Matt’s mouth closed immediately, his cheeks hollowing around Eddie’s thumb.

“Oh, jesus,” Eddie swore.

Matt’s eyes flickered and he moaned.

“You like this,” Eddie grinned.

“Mmhm.”

Eddie extracted his thumb, brushing it across Matt’s lips with the _ slightest _roughness.

“Honestly, I didn't figure you'd be such a sub.”

Matt scoffed.

“But I guess it makes sense.” Eddie’s hand trailed down Matt’s neck. “You have to hold so many things together. Bet you’re just dying to fall apart.”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> \--- Explicit Sexual Content ---
> 
> I've done it, loves. Hope you enjoy.  
We're gonna have at least one more chapter of porn before this plot gets rolling again.
> 
> -+- sorry, I havent made this playlist on youtube yet. Its the *sexy* playlist.  
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5mA0BGw99EB4qmKwscfp6q?si=PZTMyB1FRAmCriVtKkFXlA

If you dare cross the devil

Don't be blinded by his bet

I can tell what you're into

And it don't take a fool to be led

(Kwaye, “Made For It”)

  
  
  


-

  
  
  


Eddie placed a hand to Matt's chest. Venom shifted, parting for Eddie's touch and exposing Matt's skin to him. Eddie drank it in. Finally his hands on this masterpiece of a body; soft skin and hard muscle. Fingers tripping over scars. Matt's response to even simple touch was breathtaking. Every reaction playing on his face, his body quaking in Venom's hold. Just thinking about how intense this must be for Matt had Eddie  _ aching _ .

Venom embraced Eddie from behind, becoming a slightly more solid form. His face nuzzled behind Eddie's ear. Symbiote fingers caressed Eddie's pecs through his shirt.

**Now, Eddie?** Venom asked, sensing that his Other was satisfied with Matt's answers.

_ Be careful with him, V. He's reckless. You can't just give him everything he wants. You have to take care of him, okay? _

Venom orbited around Eddie restlessly.

"V?" Eddie asked aloud.

**Yes, Eddie** , Venom responded.  **I'll be careful.**

"Okay."

Venom rushed back to Matt. His face coalesced next to Matt's and he nuzzled against Matt's jaw. From the matter holding him, hands formed to trace the lines of his body. Jet black symbiote fingers stroked along his ribs and abs.

Venom could feel Matt’s arms were beginning to ache from being bound, and he released the hold. Matt stretched and then wound his hands into the matter forming a loose approximation of a torso pressing against him. He moved one hand to Venom's chin, coaxing the symbiote to give up nuzzling at his neck in favor of a gentle kiss. 

Eddie grinned. He could see Venom being  _ so careful _ . Matt may like it rough, Eddie thought, but a little romance never hurt. In fact, he thought some foreplay would be good for both of them. Venom's humanoid form had solidified, and Matt was stroking his chest, feeling the outlines of exaggerated muscle.

Venom had left Matt's torso exposed, but was still stretched taut across Matt's hips, hiding the boxers from sight but accentuating the outline of his shaft. Matt had been hard through the whole thing - Eddie trying to make him communicate with something other than his body - and that was Venom's doing. Eddie  _ liked  _ how much they liked each other. He liked that, with Venom, he could give Matt something that, on his own, Eddie might not have been that into. He wasn't much of a dominant, but with Venom to back him up, he thought he could get used to the role. Eddie realized that without Venom, he and Matt may never have met, or had the connection they did. That didn't make him nervous. He already told Matt -  _ I'd put Venom ahead of you. _ Eddie had his Other. He wanted for nothing.

**Thinking about me, Eddie.**

Venom shifted in a blink, part of him creeping back across Matt's torso but enough of him sliding around behind Eddie again that he felt solid and warm against his Other's back. He nuzzled Eddie's jaw and kissed his neck. Venom's hands coalesced tenderly on Eddie's abs, and they pulled his shirt up while caressing the muscle. Matt's hands were free now and they held Eddie's hips. Venom pulled Eddie's shirt off, and Matt's hands wandered his chest. 

Eddie leaned into Matt, their chests touching with Venom still stretched between them. Matt grabbed Eddie in a kiss. He couldn't help the way he trembled, feeling Eddie through the layer of Venom. He held Eddie tightly, one arm hooked over his shoulder and the other holding his jaw. Venom's matter slowly roiled, caressing them both while they tasted each other.

**Eddie?**

_ Yeah. _

Venom's hands slipped between them to unfasten Eddie's jeans. He stripped them off without much bother, his matter undulating to remove the clothes from his human.

_ Fucking hot, V. _

Venom solidified behind Eddie again, kissing his shoulder and back and taking love bites with dulled teeth. Eddie stroked Matt's hair in one hand while they kissed, and dropped his other hand to grab Matt's ass and squeeze playfully. Matt whimpered eagerly and rolled his hips against Eddie, their cocks straining together through the layer of Venom and the fabric of underwear between them. 

" _ Fuuck,"  _ Matt moaned against Eddie's lips.

He shivered, felt them slide together teasingly. It sent sparks through his body. 

**He wants to go to the bedroom, Eddie.**

_ I decide what he gets. _

Venom constricted around Matt again, pulling him back to the wall as Eddie took a step back, barely out of Matt's reach. Predictably, he whined.

"Please, Eddie."

The sound of it practically incapacitated Eddie. His brain lurched and his dick throbbed.

Venom whispered to Eddie and he dutifully repeated - " ** _You'll get it when I decide you're ready, baby boy._ ** "

Eddie's thumb was brushing over Matt's lips. Matt was giving him pleading eyes. 

**He likes it. ** Venom gushed, jubilant.

Eddie held Matt's chin and kissed his lips. He pulled back whenever Matt became too aggressive. Slowly, he controlled the kiss, until Matt let him take what he wanted. 

"Mmm. That's good, Matty."

Eddie moved to his throat, kissing and licking it. He ended up at Matt's chest again, Venom undulating to let Eddie at Matt's skin. Eddie began kissing over scars. 

"Fuck," Matt gasped, feeling Venom's touch make way for Eddie's mouth.

Venom could feel what Matt wanted, and he knew he should ask Eddie first. 

**Eddie? **

_ Yeah. _

Venom wrapped tendrils around Matt's wrists and held them together above his head. Matt moaned and his body arced, his hips writhing in Venom's hold. Venom's face nuzzled again at Matt's neck, and then the tongue rolled out of his mouth. Matt pulled in a gasping breath, his lips open. The tip of Venom's tongue traced his lips with reverence. 

"Venom."

Matt’s voice sounding like the name had been torn from him. Venom's matter pulsed and churned against them both, but for Matt it was a dizzying full body sensation that left him trembling. Venom's tongue moved to stroke Matt's jaw, his throat, his ears. The wet tip of it slid across hyper sensitive skin and Matt thrashed in reflexive response.

**So cute when you squirm, Matty.**

Venom’s hold on him became more fluid, letting him wiggle but keeping him restrained. Matt’s feet were still on the ground, and now the desire formed in him to be lifted, completely supported by Venom’s kinetic, excitable mass. Venom felt it, and told it to Eddie, who only nodded. Eddie kept his hands on Matt, and his touch felt like an anchor to Matt as his feet left the floor. He squirmed, pushing away from the wall, testing the slack Venom had given him. Venom held his weight at every point; it was less like being suspended and more like reclining. 

Eddie no longer had to stoop to put his mouth to Matt's abs, and he reveled in it, dragging his tongue across the defined cluster of muscle. Occasionally he'd put bites to Matt's hips, making him shiver and moan. Venom was still stretched tightly over his crotch, giving him enough friction to stay hard but not enough to get off.

Held in Venom’s embrace, Matt began to reach out along the alien’s consciousness connecting them. Through Venom, he could feel Eddie. The deeper he concentrated on the connection, the clearer it became. Venom knew everything Eddie felt, and Matt's senses could absorb all kinds of information from Venom. For anyone else, it would have been an overload. Matt took it all in stride. 

**Matt.** Venom’s voice in his mind, while the symbiote’s barely dulled teeth grazed his shoulder.

**Matty. ** Venom’s tone warmed as Matt opened to the communication.

_ Venom. I can feel Eddie. I know what he wants. I know what you want. _

**And I know what you want, Matt. We'll all get what we want but Eddie tells us when.**

Venom's tongue played with Matt’s nipples and licked the sweat from his body. 

Matt knew that Eddie was absolutely desperate to suck his cock. 

Eddie heard Matt's voice chanting his name frantically, breathlessly. He looked to Matt's face and he was groaning, lip bitten, head tossed back. Still Eddie's name.

_ Damn, baby boy, I can't even think. _

_ Don't have to think,  _ Matt replied.

_ One of us does,  _ Eddie snarked back before he realized they were speaking through Venom. 

_ Holy shit.  _

_ Neat, huh?  _ Matt smirked.

_ Can you talk to Venom? _

Matt nodded.

**I told him you decide when, Eddie.**

Eddie broke into light-hearted laughter. His Other was so keen.

“Okay.”

Eddie placed a few more lingering kisses on Matt’s abs.

_ You're gonna get what you want, baby boy. Venom's gonna take care of you. Just be patient. You're being so good. Right now, I need this. _

Venom's hold on Matt's crotch loosened, and then tendrils were slipping against his skin, sliding away the boxers. There was a collective gasp.

_ Holy shit. _

Eddie licked his lips. Venom hauled Matt a little further up the wall so that all Eddie had to do was lean forward to touch his lips open-mouthed to Matt’s shaft. Matt was hyper aware of the softest touch. Eddie was working over every inch of his shaft gently with his lips. Slowly, methodically, with whisper-soft caresses. It felt like a balm after being trapped in his underwear. Eddie took him in hand and nuzzled his face against the shaft, teasing the stubble of his jaw across sensitive skin. It made Matt curse and groan, hips bucking reflexively.

At Eddie's request, Venom tightened his hold on Matt, locking him in place so he could only attempt to squirm. The effect was a sensation of compression over nearly Matt's entire body. It was overwhelming for a split second but then it coalesced to calm. Venom's firm hold gave him a unified feeling, and Eddie's teasing touches were elevated above it.

Eddie was just  _ breathing _ on him and it sent shivers up his spine. When Eddie's tongue finally touched him, he moaned and bit his lip. Venom rested a hand to Matt’s throat and watched his face intently. Eddie's tongue was tracing veins in Matt's shaft, stroking up to the head and tasting him, and then back down to lick his balls. Matt's skin was tinged with sweat and Eddie was  _ enamored _ , his senses full of Matt. 

Eddie had given up hoping that he'd have this kind of intimacy with anyone again.  _ And now he could share it with Venom.  _ They could all feel Eddie's euphoria, effervescent. Matt's floaty submissive's high. And Venom, supremely satisfied, gorging on a feast of brain chemicals.

Venom nuzzled behind Matt's ear and purred. His tongue made gentle licks at the back of his neck, almost as if he was tasting something there.

Eddie opened his mouth for Matt's dick and slowly eased him in. His lips closed around the shaft and he slid his mouth over it shallowly. He offered sporadic suction, mostly to make Matt moan and hiss and to feel his legs shake. He loved feeling the silky smooth skin slide along with his lips as he bobbed his head over the shaft.

Eddie had a passing thought that it was a shame Matt couldn't  _ see _ how he was swallowing him right now, but he knew that Matt could feel him in ways he would never understand. 

**I could let you feel it, Eddie.**

_ Probably short-circuit my brain. _

Venom giggled wickedly.  **It would incapacitate you.**

_ Let’s not do that yet. _

He was already overwhelmed. His legs felt unreliable and his cock  _ ached  _ but this was  _ so  _ much more important. Eddie couldn't help but fall to his knees. He pulled Matt with him. Venom released his hold and undulated to support Matt's body. 

Matt clung to Eddie’s shoulders as Venom swept him up. He seized the opportunity for a kiss, and he made it count. There was a tangible release of tension in sliding their lips together, wetly, a small suction forming in their shared breath. Venom held them perfectly - impossibly - to let them get wrapped up in each other. With Matt partially seated in his lap, Eddie raised up on his knees and leaned into Venom’s embrace which held them both.

_ I’m not done with you yet. _

_ Please, Eddie!  _ Matt whined.

Eddie grinned, pleased. The sound of Matt's plea was gorgeous and it rippled and echoed through their bond, making them all shiver and sigh.

_ I’m not done with you yet. _

Matt groaned and tossed in Venom’s hold while Eddie’s kisses left his lips. Matt was seated in Venom’s matter as Eddie kissed his abs. Venom's torso coalesced to hold him, stroking hands over his shoulders, arms, and chest. Nuzzling against the base of Matt's skull, and his tongue sliding out to trace Matt’s collarbone. 

Eddie took Matt's cock again and by now he was done with the tease. He wanted to feel Matt in the back of his throat, wanted to feel Matt's cock pulsing with his lips sucking it tight. He needed to. Eddie was  _ lost _ in sucking him, moaning as his lips pulled. Every time he caught his breath, the tip of his tongue traced the veins along Matt's shaft. 

Matt had more freedom of movement now, and his hands were in Eddie's hair, tugging when something felt  _ particularly _ good. Matt's hips were left to squirm because Eddie  _ wanted  _ Matt to fuck his face. But it was more spontaneous, writhing undulations of his hips. Less rhythm, more response. 

**He wants it so bad, Eddie. Can I give him a little? It'll make him come.**

Venom knew that's what Eddie wanted.

_ Yeah. Just a little. _

Venom’s mass rippled and clung to Matt’s skin, caressing him in pulsing waves. He made a suggestion of hands to play with Matt's ass. His matter churned and undulated, stroking and spreading him open. 

What Matt really wanted was projecting, resonating through their connection. Venom consciously, distinctly recognized that he shouldn’t  _ immediately _ respond to  _ exactly  _ what Matt wanted. Venom began, instinctively, rolling his matter like hips against Matt's ass. Matt's desire was overwhelming. Venom was aching, so tempted to form a dick and give Matt what he was crying out for. Venom moaned, panted, alien breath dusting Matt’s chest, and Matt moved his face  _ so close _ to Venom’s maw. Venom thrashed, barely displacing Matt in his hold. 

_ V? _

**Hurts, Eddie.**

_ Wait, what? What hurts? _ Eddie pulled away from Matt instantly and stood, attentive to his Other.

**Hungry. So hungry it hurts.**

_ What do you need, Love? _

**Just let us do it, Eddie.**

Venom and Eddie communicated in a series of images, most of which Matt was privy to, as much as he was submerged in Venom.

_ Okay, we’re gonna take a second and wait, okay? _

**Don’t want to wait.**

_ I know. But you can. You can wait. You know we’ll get there.  _

Venom’s face huffed from under Matt’s ear, making him shiver. After a moment of roiling, he softened and engulfed Matt’s entire body, neck-down, in an ellipse of sensation like a warm bath. 

_ Why are you doing this?  _ Matt's plea, like he was enduring such agony.

_ Because you can wait, _ Eddie’s voice, authoritative.  _ It builds character. _

“You’re evil,” Matt practically gushed, with a giggle and a shiver.

_ Uh-huh. And you like it.  _

Eddie’s hand broke the surface of the Venom bubble surrounding Matt, fingers sliding through Venom to reach Matt’s chest. 

_ I was so close.  _ Matt whined.

_ Another one. Jesus.  _ Eddie was so overwhelmed at the sound of it echoing in his mind that he wondered how he was even still standing in his underwear.

_ Yeah. And then you had to go and get greedy.  _

Eddie’s hand ascended to Matt’s jaw, rippling through Venom. He kissed Matt and pressed against him, coaxing Venom to revert his form. Venom wrapped them both up again as before while they kissed and it felt like a cool balm. 

_ Good job, V. You’re so good. That was perfect, Love.  _

Venom squeezed Matt tighter, holding his shoulders while Eddie took hold of Matt’s hips. Eddie abruptly bit at Matt’s nipple, grabbing his attention. 

“Take it easy on him. He’s responding to you.”

Matt’s brain was getting foggy. His high interrupted, beginning to fade but also beginning to stir up again.

Eddie bit him harder this time, into the meat of one pectoral. 

“Yeah,” Matt gasped, thrashing mildly in Venom’s hold. 

_ I’m sorry _ , Matt’s voice in their bond.

**No, Matty,** Venom replied sternly.  **Eddie’s making us wait. **

Matt’s face broke into a grin and he chuckled.

Eddie felt it with his lips on Matt’s abs.

Venom stroked symbiote fingers through Matt’s hair and he stared at his face, and warmth engulfed them. 

Slowly, Venom's matter shifted, so that he wasn’t encasing Matt’s body so completely, but instead holding him at wrists and ankles, shaped like classic leather straps. Tendrils wrapped over Matt’s chest, clearly in imitation of a leather harness.

Eddie stepped back to view the resulting tableau.

“Did he get this from you?” 

Matt only smirked.

Eddie drank it in and shook his head in reverence.  _ Fucking hot. We're gonna use that again later, V. _

Eddie took Matt’s jaw in hand, tilting his head back.

_ You.  _ Eddie kissed Matt roughly.  _ What am I gonna do with you? _

_ You know, Eddie. _

_ Why are you being a brat? _

Matt only scoffed.

_ I tell you to go easy on him, you have him make you bondage gear? _

Matt chuckled. “Well, when you put it like that …”

_ Uh-huh.  _

“You’re in big trouble, Murdock.”

Matt laughed, even with Eddie’s hand on his throat. Eddie only kissed him fiercely. 

Venom's face merged with Eddie's. Matt let out a gasping moan at feeling the two at once. After a couple seconds, he shook off Venom's arm restraints and wrapped himself around Eddie's shoulders. Venom’s hold began to slough off him, his matter retreating to Eddie. And then Venom took over Eddie entirely, leaving only half his face. Venom’s enormous arms swept up Matt and held him impossibly close. Parts of Matt became engulfed in Venom - knees, a shoulder with Venom’s hand sprawled across it. The solidity of Venom’s form was slightly wavering.

Venom kissed Matt roughly, his carnivore teeth teasing vicious harm. It quickened Matt's pulse, made him squirm in Venom's grip. 

Venom shifted, growing close to full size and encompassing Matt's body entirely in one hand.

**Isn't this what you wanted, Matt?**

Face to face with Venom's enormous maw.

_ You know what I want _ . Matt only smirked.

**Let Eddie have what he wants.**

_ Okay. Okay. I promise.  _ Matt panted, like he had endured torture and he was ready to talk. 

Abruptly, Venom retracted, planting Matt back on his feet. For a moment it was just Matt, with his back to the wall, and Eddie, standing close enough to pin him there.

"Never had to work so hard for a blowjob in my life," Eddie quipped.

"Me neither." Matt smirked.

There was a faint awkwardness. Maybe it wasn't the most graceful negotiation. Or maybe it was, considering it was more raw expression than stammered words. More than the strangeness, though, there was a profound understanding. 

Matt wanted Venom. Raw and wild and dangerous. Venom wanted to take him, exactly like that. Eddie wanted Matt, warm and soft and gentle. He yearned for intimacy. Touch, sweat, breath, no goal, no finish line, just togetherness. Matt wanted Eddie, too, and that squelched Eddie's inherent assumption of inferiority. But that desire was wrapped up in the exciting novelty of  _ fucking an alien _ . Eddie knew dominance was the way Matt needed to be handled. It was exciting and frightening. They'd all have to meet in the middle.

They stood together, just the two of them. Venom was coiled inside Eddie, soothed in the familiarity of his Other. Matt was a fire of sensation and desire and only now did Venom understand why Eddie made them wait. 

Matt finally let Eddie have what he wanted. Slow kisses, slow touches. No demand, no pleading. Only a fluid mutual exploration. 

"God, you're so perfect," Eddie muttered, his nose under Matt's jaw, his hands skating across scarred muscle.

Matt took Eddie's face in his hands.

"Eddie. Thank you. I mean it. Everything you've done -"

Matt struggled with the words but through Venom, Eddie  _ felt _ it.  _ Thank you for making this more than a game. More than one night. More than a team-up. More, more, more. Thank you for making this everything. _

Eddie stroked Matt's hair, leaned their foreheads together. Slow, heavy kisses, meaningful and vast. Venom slid forward from Eddie's hips and wrapped around Matt's, encasing them both from hips to thighs and oozing between them. 

**Eddie, can I?**

_ Yeah, V. _

Venom slipped into Eddie's boxers and a tendril carried them away. Venom engulfed the space left behind, and Eddie shivered. Venom held them both, his matter stroking sensitive skin and teasing all the places where they yearned for contact.

Eddie dropped to his knees again. Venom's top half manifest over Eddie's shoulder. Strategically so he wouldn't get caught up in Matt's demands. Now Matt only got pieces of him. Matt stretched his arms over his head and Venom bound them. Venom bound his feet barely too far apart. Tendrils wrapped across Matt's chest in the harness configuration again, squeezed just right.

The increase of empty air against his skin let Matt _breathe. _Venom's touch wasn't as overwhelming and urgent as before. Venom leaned in to kiss Matt, first _too gently_, but then he let the tongue roll out of his mouth. It caressed Matt's face wetly, and slid across his neck. 

Matt startled when Eddie's mouth engulfed his shaft. Foreplay was dead; Eddie knew  _ exactly  _ what he wanted, and he would get it. Butterflies in Matt's tummy, and in response Venom stroked his chest with a tendril. Venom's tendrils that held him bound spiraled and undulated, crawling across his limbs. 

Eddie's mouth bobbed over his cock quickly. Occasionally the movement went deep and Matt's head slipped into Eddie's throat, and it would make Matt thrash and moan. He chased it, because he knew Eddie wanted it. 

He pulled his wrists free from Venom's hold, the tendrils clinging to him but no longer restraining him. Matt's fingers brushed through Eddie's hair. Eddie moaned and through their connection, Matt felt again what Eddie wanted. And this time he would get it. 

His fingers twisting in Eddie's hair, Matt's hips rocked forward, pushing himself deeper into Eddie's throat. Eddie's hands climbed Matt's thighs, and slid under his ass. Venom spread Matt open. One of Eddie's fingers, together with a thin tendril from Venom, pressed against Matt's hole. The tendril was wet, and Matt wondered if Venom was able to produce some kind of lubricant. He didn't have the capacity to dwell on it, or reach out to ask. Eddie's satisfied moans were contorting every time Matt's head breached his throat and he  _ almost  _ thought he might get off on that alone. Eddie's enthusiasm and his stamina. 

Venom touched his forehead to Matt's temple. His tongue traced Matt's lips and slid into his mouth. Matt tossed his head back, held Eddie in place, and let instinct drive his hips. He bucked and trembled, thrusting a rhythm and then faltering, picking it up and pushing it hard. Eddie only clung to him and moaned on his dick. 

Eddie's finger and Venom's tendril slid slowly, wetly, inside Matt, who cried out and squirmed. Venom wrapped tight around his hips to keep him in place, so that Eddie was in control again. Eddie pulled off to take a deep breath, sitting back on his haunches. He watched Matt moan while Venom's tendril gently writhed, barely inside him.

_ You're doing  _ ** _so_ ** _ good, V. I'm proud of you, Love. _

Venom purred and his matter warmed.

_ Keep him there, okay, V? _

**I got him, Eddie.**

Eddie eased his finger out of Matt, letting Venom take over. Eddie used his hand instead to assist his mouth, stroking Matt roughly while he took his head back into his mouth. Unable to move his hips, Matt's back arched while his hands pressed against Eddie's shoulders. Eddie dropped the hand from Matt's shaft to his balls, squeezing and pulling delicately while his other hand still fondled Matt's ass. Eddie teased Matt briefly with his tongue before sucking down hard and deep. He kept the pressure up while Venom's tendril squirmed a little deeper. Matt was panting out loud moans, cursing and finally losing himself enough for  _ god  _ to tumble out of his mouth.

“Eddie, I’m gonna - “

**He wants it, Matty.**

Matt's fingers twisted in Eddie's hair while he came, shouting nothing even close to words. As soon as he felt it, Eddie swallowed the first jet instantly. Then he sucked hard, like he was pulling it out of Matt, and let the warm, thick liquid pool on his tongue. 

**Taste, Eddie!**

Eddie smiled while Matt shuddered through aftershocks. Eddie turned his head to Venom and they kissed, Venom's tongue slipping into Eddie's mouth to taste Matt. Then Matt yanked forcefully on Eddie's hair, clearly indicating  _ me too. _ Eddie stood and kissed Matt, letting him taste himself. Slowly, Venom's tendril inside him retracted. 

_ Fuck. _

Matt collapsed but Venom supported him, somewhat like a hammock. Eddie leaned over him, his hips slotting between Matt's thighs. Matt felt Eddie's dick, which was enveloped in Venom, slide against his sensitive crotch.

"Fuck, how are you still standing there?"

Eddie growled against Matt's neck and took a playful bite. 

"Guess you're just a lightweight, Murdock."

Matt only leaned back into Venom's mass, looking far too pleased with himself. As if he'd done anything at all. 


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> lol so there will probably still be a little more porn before I get back to plot I dunno we will see how it comes together. I just really needed to post this I couldn't stand looking at it anymore lol

'Cause you're safe like springtime

Short days, long nights, boy

Tell me all the ways to love you

(Troye Sivan, "Lucky Strike")

-

_ Want you, Eddie.  _ Matt's voice in their bond. Their shared consciousness.

_ God, he doesn't stop.  _

** _Needs it, _ ** **Eddie.**

_ Yeah, I can feel it.  _

Matt was a perfect sight, spread open for Eddie, laid back on Venom, his hands bound up in tendrils. 

_ Don't let him break them this time, okay, V? He stays bound. _

Venom wrapped a couple more tendrils around Matt's wrists for show. 

**Yes, Eddie.**

Eddie would have liked to think that maybe he'd made Matt work for this but honestly he was working himself up to it. Making Matt squirm was fun but now, now it was so  _ overwhelmingly  _ real. 

**Don't be nervous, Eddie.**

_ You know that doesn't work, V. _

**He's wild about you, Eddie. Whatever we do will be good for him.**

_ My head is spinning. _

**I know. **

_ It feels so weird. I can feel you both and you're so ready and I'm - _

**You're enough, Eddie. More than enough. We're ** ** _lucky _ ** **to be here with you. I've got you.**

_ Thanks, Love. _

Eddie stood between Matt's legs. Venom formed a sling to hold Matt's body. He was anchored at points on the wall, the floor, and the ceiling. Matt was laid out just for them, just waiting. Venom was still spread over Eddie's crotch, holding him in a familiar comfort. 

"You may have noticed that Venom is self-lubricating." Eddie's hands stroked Matt's thighs as he said it.

"Yeah, I did."

"I really want to eat your ass but honestly I don't think you've earned it. So, I'm just gonna let Venom do his thing."

_ Fuck, Eddie. _ Matt shivered in response to Eddie's tone, Eddie's words. 

He knew Eddie was nervous but it didn't matter; he ascended. Eddie was cool control, rooted fast, with the steam of Venom's excitement hissing off of him.

Venom couldn't contain himself. Slender tendrils clung to Matt's body, squeezing and caressing him. Venom's face formed next to his, nuzzling into that spot behind his ear. He sent a slick tendril between Matt's buttocks, making him gasp and shiver at the cool sensation. The tendril probed inside him gently, but he was ready for more. Matt squirmed, body gyrating to Venom's undulations. 

Eddie supposed it was what they had been doing all along, but only now did he consciously recognize that Matt was  _ giving his body  _ to Venom. Placing trust and control in their hands. Their bond throbbed with love and it included Matt. Eddie watched Venom  _ consuming  _ their new lover and he basked in this moment. It was tremendously satisfying to Eddie; watching Venom take Matt apart like that.

Legs spread open, Venom thickening inside him, and still Matt's hips continued pushing toward Eddie. Eddie just wanted to watch, his eyes caught up in the black swirl of Venom's mass while he slowly expanded inside Matt. It's already more than Eddie could have taken.

_ Jesus. _

_ Want  _ ** _you_ ** _ , Eddie, please. _

Eddie didn't want to hear it again. No more please, no more begging. He'd made Matt wait long enough. His own shaft was still encased in Venom, and when he slid inside Matt he displaced even more of Venom. The symbiote's matter flooded over Matt's ass and wrapped around his hips, swallowing up his cock. They could both feel Matt from the inside. And it was transcendent. Hot, tight, throbbing to Matt's heartbeat. Eddie couldn't move; he had to just  _ stay there _ and slowly push himself in as deep as he could.

Venom's consciousness encircled them, his face disappearing and reappearing to bite here - the flex of Eddie's thighs as he finally thrust inside Matt - and lick there - behind Matt's ear. Always there; where the taste was deep. He could nuzzle against the base of Matt's skull and feel  _ everything. _ Venom was overjoyed that the waiting was done. It was no longer Matt straining and pleading. Now it was Matt spread open and shouting emphatically  _ yes. _ It was what he had been seeing in Matt’s mind, what had made him  _ ache  _ and  _ hurt _ , he wanted it so much. 

Venom helped Eddie move; helped his tired, overwrought body snap his hips so that Matt could feel it deeply like he wanted to. 

_ Thanks, baby. _

**Got you, Eddie.**

"Fuck, yes. Eddie."

_ Fuck, he sounds so good. _

**Tastes good.** Venom licked Matt's neck.

"Fuck," Eddie echoed, his hands stroking Matt's ribs, "fuck, you feel so good, baby boy."

Matt fixed his eyes on Eddie's, for Eddie's benefit, to let him have the intimacy of eye contact. It raised Eddie's heart rate and Matt smirked, leaning back into Venom. Matt looked far too confident and hungry for a man in his position. 

_ Alright, V. You know what to do. _

Venom giggled and formed the harness around Matt's chest with his tendrils. 

Eddie looked very smug while he grabbed the harness with one hand and thrust his hips forward in smooth, rolling motions. It kept Matt's body close, locked with Eddie's, no longer swaying in time to his movements.  _ This _ , oh god, this could make him come. He saw it on Matt's face, too. 

Using the Venom harness embracing his chest, Eddie pulled Matt forward. Venom responded, supporting Matt's lower back. Matt's arms were pulled taut behind his head. There was still a gap between kissing distance, but that's not what Eddie wanted. Eddie wanted to watch Matt's face. Wanted him just a _ little  _ closer. He watched Matt groan, bite his lip, twist his wrists in Venom's grasp, and pant until his mouth went dry. 

Eddie groped Matt's ass with his free hand, holding him close and rolling his hips into him.

_ God, Eddie - fuck. _

"God" again.

Eddie touched Matt's face, his thumb tracing his lips. As soon as Eddie had the thought, Venom shared it with Matt. He let the response ring through their bond.

_ Yes, Eddie! Please! _

Eddie slapped Matt's face, at the same time driving his hips into him. His thumb returned to Matt's mouth, pressing gently at his tongue. Matt moaned and shivered, keening and biting playfully at Eddie's thumb. 

**He wants it harder.**

_ Well, sometimes he doesn't get what he wants, _ Eddie replied to his Other.

Matt thrashed in Venom's hold, responding to Eddie's casually authoritative tone.

A fresh rush of power, a tingling thrill. Eddie moved his hand to Matt's neck, resting it there like a silent reminder of who was in control. 

_ Thank you, Eddie _ . Matt whimpered and it sounded  _ so good _ . It was  _ so sweet _ and Eddie wanted to make him say it again. 

_ Slap me again and I'll say it again _ , Matt taunted.

_ You're a freak, you know that? It's fucking hot. _

Matt groaned. Venom tilted him slightly, lifting his hips and keeping his legs spread wide. Eddie released his grip on the harness, letting Matt fall back into Venom's support.

Eddie held one of Matt's legs flush against his chest while he pounded into him. He let a hand return to Matt's neck, teasing like he might squeeze like Matt wanted, but he redirected and gave him another slap instead.

"Thank you, Eddie."

Eddie shivered. God, it was even better out loud. 

Matt bent his leg, setting his foot flat against Eddie's chest. It caused his hips to cant upward even more, Venom still supporting him. 

_ Fuck.  _

Eddie glanced down to see where they joined, and if Venom hadn't been holding the base of his shaft like a cock ring, it would have made him come. Matt was  _ engulfed  _ in Venom, and Eddie was displacing his Other's matter with his movements. His cock disappeared into  _ Venom,  _ into Matt. And Venom was thick inside Matt, stretching him, filling him.

Matt was so  _ open.  _ It made Eddie shiver - how much Matt  _ liked that. _ How the stretch made his eyes flutter and made him bite his lip because it felt a leg-shaking, mind-numbing flavor of  _ good _ .

Eddie was perfectly happy being a nice comfortable switch, but Matt -  _ Damn _ , Eddie had never seen anyone bottom so aggressively.

Eddie's hips moved without Venom's influence now, crashing into Matt. His arms wrapped over Matt's hips, Eddie squeezed his ass while he fucked into him roughly. 

Matt loved it -  _ this, finally  _ what he wanted. Eddie was holding him close and fucking him  _ hard _ , and Venom held him bound. Finally everything fell away and there was only the ecstatic bliss of  _ rocking _ , like being handled by stormy waves. Venom, warm and undulating, offered Matt up to Eddie like predators sharing prey.

Matt could feel Venom stroking him from inside. He would recede; let Matt feel Eddie. And then he would seep back in like the tide and  _ fill  _ Matt up, until he was spilling out with Eddie's next thrust. Slippery suction noises accompanied the slap of bare skin, and Matt was moaning over it.

**Do you think we should let him come, Eddie?**

Eddie's laughter rumbled in his gut and he grinned wickedly. He suddenly felt a little maniacal with just how much he liked the idea of seeing Matt overwhelmed, overcome. 

_ Oh, yeah. I wanna see it.  _

Venom chuckled. The symbiote was plugged in to Matt's pleasure, experiencing the tidal waves that washed over him - from  _ barely not enough  _ to  _ just this close to too much _ ; a tempestuous sea of blissful new sensations. Matt's legs trembled in Venom's hold. 

As Venom's matter began squeezing, stroking Matt's shaft, intent on bringing Matt's orgasm, his tongue coiled loosely around Matt's neck. Slowly he began to squeeze his tongue tighter, intimately aware of Matt's breath. Venom's touch along Matt's cock undulated in time with the pleasure waves. When Matt tried to pull a breath and got  _ nothing _ , when the sensation - like a caress, a grope, and a lick simultaneously - on his dick  _ didn't stop _ but only cycled endlessly, he spilled in spasms across his abs, and Venom absorbed him greedily. Venom's tongue loosened to let him take a gasping breath while his limbs trembled out of his control. 

Eddie remained rooted, letting Matt squirm on his cock to Venom's exotic touches. He watched Matt's face while he came; he was transported. If Eddie had been waiting to watch Matt fall apart, now it was happening before his eyes and it was  _ everything  _ he'd wanted. Mouth open, brow knit. Eyes half-lidded, his moans strained and cracked with Venom's tongue choking him. Matt squeezed him so hard when he came, Eddie's vision went blurry.

_ Fuck, fuck -  _

Venom released the tight hold on Eddie's dick, letting him come instantly. It took him off guard, but Venom kept him on his feet. As he spilled inside Matt, he hastily pulled their bodies together. Venom filled in the gaps. By the time aftershocks were buzzing through him, he had Matt wrapped up tight in his arms, Matt's legs clenched around his waist.

They kissed while Venom absorbed what they'd spent. Eddie felt like he wouldn't have been able to go soft if he wanted to. He was embedded in Matt, Venom holding them all together. Matt, likewise, was still hard and beginning to gently rut against Eddie while they kissed. 

** _More, _ ** spoke the collective - even Eddie, exhausted as he was.

"Fuck, Matty -" Eddie sighed on his neck, arms squeezing him close.

Venom supported them in all the places they were sore and tired. Matt was panting like he'd run a marathon, holding onto Eddie, touching the back of his neck where sweat wet his hair. Eddie's forehead was on Matt's chest. He could smell sweat and come and Venom all in every ragged inhale. Matt tilted Eddie's face back up to his. 

"Fuck, Eddie," he told him, very seriously, as if he were about to break dire news instead of compliment his prowress. 

Eddie laughed deeply. It broke the moment perfectly and all Matt could do was kiss his smile. 

_ I don't even have words for that,  _ Matt decided, after spending a moment searching for an appropriate adjective.

"I don't words," Eddie only mumbled between bites to Matt's bicep.

Matt smiled, stroked Eddie's hair. Eddie could feel this pure heat from him; a raging, lusty adoration in which Matt couldn't quite decide if he wanted to continue fucking or just set his lips to Eddie's and never let go.

For Matt, the best answer was both. Always both. Always everything, all at once. It made Eddie dizzy, but he would hold on tight.

The longer they kissed, the more insistent Matt's body became. Eddie felt like jelly; felt like the only thing keeping him upright was Venom. 

Matt's legs flexed, hoisting himself in Venom's hold so that he could stroke himself over Eddie's cock. For a few solid minutes, Matt stubbornly fucked himself without help from Eddie or Venom. Beyond the tendrils of Venom that held his thighs, it was Matt's muscle alone doing the work, leveraging off the wall. Matt was practically climbing Eddie, suspended in Venom. Venom was amused, enamored. Eddie couldn't quite remember where he was.

**Eddie. **

"V-" Eddie mumbled. 

The only thing he could focus on was keeping one hand under Matt's ass, fingers gently squeezing the flexing muscle.

**Eddie. Look at him, Eddie. You can't leave him like this. Let me help.**

It felt like pulling his head above water. It took effort to lift himself out of the haze. Eddie straightened his posture, stretched his back. Matt's hips still rocked against him. 

_ Venom, we do this together.  _

**Yes, Eddie. We.**

_ Us. Always.  _

**Eddie!**

Venom formed out of Eddie's chest, seeming to leap into his arms. Matt gasped as he felt the symbiote appearing between them. Matt stroked his hands over Venom while he kissed Eddie with loving undulations of a humanoid torso and face. Eddie held his face and stared for a long moment into huge opalescent eyes.

"God, I love you."

**Let me help, Eddie.**

Venom was covering Eddie completely, a full suit of symbiote embracing his body.

Eddie's sigh of relief sent shivers through Matt.

_ Oh, thank fuck -  _

Eddie surrendered to Venom completely.

Physically, mentally, spiritually. 

He  _ trusted  _ Venom. 

_ Holy fuck.  _ Matt made it sound like a prayer.

Awe overcame Matt's face while Venom's hands overtook his body.

_ Venom  _ kissed Matt, holding him entirely in his hands. Matt was kissing warm symbiote goo, and Venom didn't have a nose and that was strange, and the rippling of Venom's matter tickled his face. Matt's hands were stroking Venom's face, neck, shoulders. Fluid alien body approximating a humanoid shape. Matt was rarely overwhelmed, but he certainly was now.

Now that Eddie wasn't so overwhelmed with sensation, his brain cleared a bit. Submerged in Venom, he was simultaneously less  _ and  _ more present. Venom split their face, letting Matt kiss them both. 

Eddie raised an arm, separate from Venom's but still encased in symbiote, fingers caressing Matt's face. He watched Venom's matter cling to his skin. He watched Matt's face, enamored. His mind conjured ways to make Matt respond.

_ What do you think he's earned, V? _

_ I don't care. I've earned this. _

_ You absolutely have, Love.  _

Eddie was absorbed in Venom now; Matt's aggressive urgency was muted. Venom was no less eager, but his was a smooth, simmering heat. It was familiar and soothing, but always, always -  _ the hunger _ . The low, aching constant. Now, it was different but still familiar. Hungry and full at the same time? Eddie knew the feeling. Here he could relax - he wasn't so aware of his body. Venom moving them just felt like an instinct.

Matt was entirely in Venom's hands, and right now Eddie wasn't calling the shots. 

**You feel the way he trusts us, Eddie?**

_ Yeah. God, I wanna -  _

But what he wanted was  _ exactly _ what Venom was doing. Wrap him up, cover him, absorb him, make them all one.

Venom was taking over Matt's body as fully as he had Eddie's. They were all united in Venom's ubiquity. It was no longer Venom's face over Eddie's. It was Matt and Eddie breathing through each other's mouths while Venom encompassed them like jet black water. 

Through the dizzy, hazy pleasure of a submissive's high, Matt almost didn't notice as Venom carried them up the wall. A tingling vertigo broke through and he had to take stock of the environment. Everything was warm, viscous symbiote. Venom crawling over him, and holding him simultaneously. His hands were free but he threw them over his head and arched his body instinctively, an offering. 

Eddie was caught up in Matt's lips. His body was held by Venom, his Other moving with him in fluid support. Eddie could have exactly what he wanted without fretting for his lover's pleasure - he knew Venom would pick up the slack. Eddie could have kissed Matt for an eternity. The rest of their bodies may as well not even exist. He just wanted Matt's breath flowing through him.

Eddie ended up tangled in Matt's limbs. Matt's thighs were up around Eddie's waist but it was Venom inside Matt. Eddie only wanted Matt's lips, his tongue. Venom held them, wrapping their dicks up together like a sleeve and letting their natural grinding stimulate them.

Venom filled Matt perfectly - no more or less than precisely what he could take. He gave him what he wanted - the exaggerated phallus that Eddie would have laughed at. Matt liked the unrelenting hardness and the cloying stretch inside him. Matt wanted more than he could take. He wanted very desperately to be  _ broken _ . Venom met his desires with gentleness, his self inside Matt reforming to distract him. Making ridges and textures, stroking him inside, making him forget his desperation in something beyond his imagination.

A storm of void black matter undulated around the men, everywhere at once and nowhere simultaneously; nothing humanoid for them to grab onto. Every desire passed through them all instantly, being filtered through each other before being expressed. Eddie felt what Matt wanted, and how Venom satisfied it. Matt felt Eddie's intimate longing and he gave himself to Eddie as completely as to Venom, as completely as Eddie gave himself to his Other. Matt's body stroking, squirming, writhing against Eddie's while Venom fucked him  _ exactly  _ the way he needed; it had Eddie spilling his load. He could only tremble and moan and let himself be held while Venom absorbed him. 

_ Mmm, fuck, Eddie _ \- Matt growled. 

He felt Eddie's cock pulse against his own. He pulled Eddie's hair and smashed their lips together, both of them feeling like they could  _ absorb  _ each other. Eddie dropped his arms to pull Matt's legs up, higher, wider, and it did the trick. Matt's groans turned to shouts as he was held open and Venom fucked him roughly, just the way he'd been aching for it. 

"Venom!"

Matt's orgasm raged through him like a fire, burning away everything in its path and finally, finally, leaving him drained, sated. Shivering with muscle spasms and heaving breaths of pure  _ relief _ .

Slowly, gently, Venom brought them back where gravity would have them, depositing two exhausted bodies onto Matt's couch. Instinctively, Eddie wrapped Matt up in his arms and warmth filled him when Matt nuzzled into his embrace.

"Is it everything you wanted, baby boy?"

Matt's brain was not functioning. Eddie knew he wouldn't be able to answer. 

_ Eddie . . . Eddie  _

"Fuck, look at you."

Eddie had never seen anything as beautiful as Matt's blissed-out face. All that tension gone, just a pure blank slate. Eddie stroked Matt's hair and began to drift off, giving into the warm pleasure-haze.

_ Venom,  _ Matt's voice in their bond,  _ thank you. _

Venom wrapped around them both like a warm blanket. His face appeared to press a kiss to Matt's cheek. 

_ It was my pleasure, Matty. _

  
  


\---

  
  


"So. You wanna go again?"

Matt’s eyes glinted with neon-through-frosted-glass. The sky was beginning to brighten, sun rise imminent.

"Wait," Eddie mumbled. 

Chin resting on his chest, he’d been on the brink of sleep for some indeterminable stretch of time; unable to move, to think…

"Wait - did we," he started, and then paused, looking serious. " -  _ or did we not _ \- fuck on the ceiling?"

_ We did, _ Matt answered subconsciously, instantly.

"Well, it was -" Matt gestured vaguely with his left arm raised, "on the wall, but, yeah, close to the ceiling."

"Okay," Eddie sighed, as if relieved to have this memory corroborated. After a beat, he asked, "and you want to go again?"

_ You know you're a lunatic.  _ Eddie thought as he stared at Matt's dumb smile.

But still, he said, "Whaddya want me to do?" 

He slurred the words and made a show of sitting up from his slump.

"No," Matt shook his head. "No." He held Eddie in place, straddling his lap. "I just want to get my hands on you."

Matt touched Eddie with a cool reverence, like the ease and familiarity of applying your own soap in a shower. Like he knew Eddie's body already. 

"You’re high," Eddie grinned.

His words slurred and his hands slowly stroked Matt's hips. Touch was electric, overwhelming. Eddie's eyes fell closed.

Matt exposed his throat, head tipped back. 

"Maybe. You’re high, too."

"Mmmhmmhm."

In silence, Matt's hands explored Eddie. Gentle touches, like soft lover's words from Matt's fingers to Eddie's skin. 

"I think I owe you something  _ you  _ want."

_ I wanna sleep. _

_ Not yet. Please? _

_ God, you're a brat. _

Eddie opened his eyes. Matt was so close they could share breath. Perfect lips inches away from a kiss. Eddie pressed forward and took one, Matt gave him another. 

"I can't say no to you. I don't want to. I just want to give you everything you want."

"Gonna spoil me, Eddie."

"Yeah, I am."

"I still owe you."

"No. You don’t. I just like this," Eddie murmured before taking another slow kiss.

His hand slowly ascended over Matt's back, fingers touching scars.

"Yeah, but there's something more."

"There's always more. We can't do it all in one night, Murdock."

Matt smiled, blew a raspberry.

"Where's your ambition, Brock?" he ribbed. 

"Never had any," he confessed.

Eddie's touch felt reverential on Matt's skin, like he was experiencing art with his fingertips. 

"I don't buy it." Matt rocked his hips slowly in Eddie's lap. "Can we go to the bedroom?" 

Matt began kissing his neck and Eddie touched Matt's hair. 

"As long as you stay on top."

“Deal.”

Venom overtook Eddie. For Eddie, giving in to Venom was better than sex. Like taking a nap while a friend drives. Wholly intimate surrender. His body held; nothing could touch him. Nothing but V. 

Venom carried them to the bedroom.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so much porn. I SWEAR this thing has a plot and I'm actually working on it.  
I stand by every self indulgent word of this. <3

In the heat of the night

In the church full of empty aisles

Take all I've got

Take the best of me away

(KOPPS, “Hott ft. Joywave”)

-

**He's getting on top, Eddie. **

Venom couldn't contain his excitement when Matt pushed Eddie down into his bed and straddled him. Venom's hands held Matt’s waist and Eddie’s stroked his thighs. Matt was smiling; he couldn't contain the joy at feeling  _ their _ joy. Eddie and Venom both in awe of him and  _ so hungry.  _ Eddie's brain was starting to boot up again, with Matt sitting on his hips. The bed felt  _ deep,  _ like he could sink right into it and be swallowed up. Silk sheets licked his skin and everything smelled like  _ Matt.  _

Eddie thought maybe he could  _ feel  _ Matt in his head - and it was creepy and intimidating and hot how Matt was so fucking good at that.

_ Are you poking around in my head? _

_ Maybe.  _ Matt kissed his chest.

_ You should ask before you do that, you know. _

_ Sorry. I wanna know what you want. _

_ You could ask. _

_ Would you tell me? _

Eddie thought about that for a minute, while Matt kissed his ribs. 

So Eddie showed him. Let his mind paint an ideal scenario. He smiled at how different it was from Matt's ideas. Matt read Eddie's mind and he gathered himself, and  _ slowed  _ down. He rocked on Eddie's lap, stroking his hands across Eddie’s chest. Matt stopped pushing and just  _ felt  _ everything around them. Matt grinned - it was funny that Eddie had trouble meditating when it wasn't much different from this. 

_ Good practice, though.  _ Matt smirked. Ah, the smirk.

In their minds, they were kissing, touching; Venom was connecting them. Eddie could  _ feel  _ parts of Matt he wasn’t even touching. He was getting sensory information from Venom, whose humanoid talons were skating across Matt’s torso - feeling scars and muscles and the hair that dusted his chest. Eddie gulped in a deep breath, overwhelmed. Matt just undulated, rolled his hips and touched his own body. Eddie opened his eyes to see it - Matt slowly stretching, gently rubbing against Eddie in the golden sunrise light.

_ Fuck -  _ Maybe it was like meditating. Maybe it was a pure act of living in the moment.

_ Yeah?  _ Matt’s voice felt strained, even in their bond.

_ You’re so fucking hot, you know? _

Matt smiled, basked in Eddie’s adoration. And, God, it was sublime to  _ know _ , without a doubt, that you’re wanted, and to feel just how much.

_ You like it, Eddie? _

And his voice was  _ dripping  _ with submission. He wanted to be validated, to be worshiped.

_ Oh, yeah. Fuck, baby -  _ Eddie thought back. 

And still, fuck, he wasn’t over that.  _ Thinking _ at each other. 

_ Shit -  _

They all giggled, high, overwrought, delirious in love.

Eddie slid his hands along Matt’s sides, his hips, his ribs -

_ You’re so fucking gorgeous. I could just watch you, just like this. _

Matt rolled his hips and pinched his own nipples, fingers tangling with Venom’s.

_ Fuck -  _

Eddie laughed.  _ I still can’t believe what a slut you are. _

Matt only grinned and raised his hands to tousle his own hair.

Matt slid his own shaft against Eddie's with a roll of his hips. He couldn’t help it. He needed to be  _ closer _ to Eddie. Matt wrapped a hand around them both, still grinding. Eddie and Venom both groaned in response. It brought Eddie back to their immediate reality, distracted him from the phantom sensations Venom was letting him feel. Eddie’s body arched into the touch, head thrown back, mouth open in a moan. Matt leaned down to kiss his jaw. 

Matt smiled, and felt Eddie’s breath, and kissed Eddie’s lips with gentle pecks. He could feel how  _ blissed out  _ Eddie was, how he experienced it like a high; Matt was there too. So high there was no second thought - there was only the need, the desire. Eddie’s body - delicious - covered in tattoos and Venom. And Matt could feel Eddie’s heart thump and dick twitch when he swayed atop him and caressed his own body with his hands.

_ oh God, Eddie - _

_ You said it.  _ Eddie giggled. _ I made you say it. _

_ Shut up. Brat. _

_ No, that’s you remember?  _ Eddie replied.

Matt stroked their dicks together and Eddie forgot  _ language _ . Matt rolled his hips, teasing his sac against Eddie’s and thrusting into his own hold. Their sensitive undersides slid together and it had Eddie’s entire body quivering; hands clutching silk sheets.

Venom wanted to replace Matt’s hand enveloping them; he could get them both off so easily.

_ Wait, Love. Please.  _ Eddie intervened in his Other’s desire.

**Why wait, Eddie? **

_ Because I’m not gonna make it past this. _

**Hmm. Then, should I do it, Eddie?**

Eddie felt Venom giggle. It still thrilled him every time. They didn't even have to speak. They could act as one. When they could agree on what they wanted. 

_ Oh, yeah.  _

Eddie smiled into the sloppy kiss Matt placed over his lips. Venom's face appeared behind Matt, his tongue wriggling out of his mouth and stroking the length of Matt's spine. Matt immediately gasped and his body arched, breaking his own grip on himself and Eddie. Now, his hips sought Venom. When the tongue touched Matt’s hole, Eddie could  _ feel  _ it; as well as if Venom's mouth was his own. Matt could only lay his face on Eddie's chest and pop his hips up into Venom's touch and  _ moan _ . Eddie wanted to fondle Matt's ass, spread it open and soothe his fingers along its curves. Symbiote hands spread over Matt's skin and let him do exactly that. 

"Oh, god -" 

Eddie's hands stroked Matt's hair and his shoulder, even while he could control the hands Venom made for him on Matt's ass. Eddie wasn't sure how it didn't split his brain in half. He could  _ taste  _ Matt on Venom's tongue. He could feel the stretch and compression, Venom's tongue reaching out, Matt's hole gripping him tight. 

Matt lifted his head from Eddie's chest, held himself up with his hands on either side of Eddie. Again so that Eddie could see his face, to let Eddie watch. Eddie held Matt's face and Matt could just  _ soak _ up Eddie's adoration. Eddie could feel how Matt had  _ never  _ felt anything like this. Eddie groaned and squirmed and his dick ached while he stroked Matt’s hair. 

_ Let him take you, baby.  _

_ Yes. God, yes - _

_ Oh, jesus - _

Matt gasped and moaned, drooled on Eddie’s chest. Let his open mouth  _ bite _ \- Eddie’s pec, Eddie’s nipples. Matt’s hands stroking across Eddie’s ribs, holding his hips. Matt stretched his body forward to meet Eddie’s lips.

_ Fuck -  _ Eddie thought into their kiss.

_ Eddie. _

**Matty. **

“You like that, baby boy?” Eddie pulled Matt away from his lips to ask. 

He was  _ gone,  _ they were  _ all _ gone, indulging any dirty thoughts that crossed their minds. Matt was squirming atop Eddie and he kept arching his hips up into Venom’s mouth. Venom had formed his own torso, and his hands encircled Matt's thighs. Meanwhile the pair that Eddie could control  _worshiped_ Matt's ass - every touch a prayer.

Eddie was  _ absorbed  _ in kissing Matt, their open mouths sharing breath and his fingers in Matt's hair, on the back of his neck.

_ Fuck yeah - God, Eddie - Venom, yes! _

Eddie smiled, stroked his hand through Matt’s hair. He was so  _ gone.  _ Matt’s mouth fell away from Eddie’s while he shoved his hips back toward Venom. And the tongue sank deeper. Eddie could feel it, and he  _ fell  _ into it, tasting Matt on Venom’s tongue. 

_ Fuck - fuck - _

Matt was shivering, his hips working frantically between Venom’s mouth and Eddie’s dick. 

**Eddie.**

_ Shit, shit, oh, fuck -  _

**Eddie, let me, please. ** Venom felt that it was what Eddie wanted to hear.

Eddie giggled, overwhelmed, and then told his Other:  _ okay, dear. _

A second later he felt Venom’s wet touch stroking his dick with Matt’s. Venom encased them in a warm grip, making both men moan in surprise, and then sigh in awe. Matt moved his hips again, rubbing them together while Venom began to stroke them softly. Venom’s tongue was so deep inside him that he couldn't even feel a difference when he leaned forward to take Eddie’s lips. And Venom still had plenty of tongue left. 

_That tongue could probably be infinite_, Eddie thought deliriously as he met Venom’s eyes floating behind Matt and watched _the_ _tongue_ flowing out of his mouth.

_ Vee,  _ he thought warmly, his eyes touching his Other’s.

_ Oh, God -  _ Matt’s body was moving frantically, stroking himself against Eddie, fucking Venom’s tongue.

Eddie could feel all the things in Venom’s mind that he wasn’t projecting. An insistent litany of  **gimme it’s mine give it to me want it ** ** _mine mine mine mine mine_ **

When Matt came, Venom absorbed it with a gentle suction around his head. Eddie absorbed Matt's cries with his mouth. 

_ Damn, how am I ever going to handle two of these greedy fuckers?  _ Was Eddie’s last thought before he came. He spilled with a relieved moan, and for a blinding moment everything was  _ too much  _ and  _ not enough  _ and  _ perfect.  _ He wanted to stay wrapped up and safe and warm in Venom. _ _

Matt collapsed atop Eddie. He shivered and groaned into Eddie's chest as Venom's tongue slowly recoiled.

_ Fuck, how do you - not just want to do that all the time? _

“You can have it anytime you want, baby boy,” Eddie told him warmly, thumb brushing Matt’s lips. “But I think even Venom's tongue couldn't keep you home from crime fighting.”

Matt blushed. He nuzzled his face into Eddie’s chest and clung to him.

Eddie was being honest when he said he liked Matt being Daredevil. Matt had been lying a smidge when he said he didn’t get off on it, but Eddie knew that too. Eddie actually liked it even more than Matt did. Eddie wanted to fight  _ with _ him. Next to him. Deep in the pit of Eddie’s stomach there was the primal fear that he’d already faced once - Matt helpless; hurt; broken. And his reaction to that fear was not that Matt should stop; it was that  _ they should be with Matt _ .

Matt could feel it all in a moment while he kissed Eddie’s chest.

He bit at Eddie's pec, near his armpit where the skin was soft and it made him gasp. He got caught up in Eddie’s smell; it let his mind wander from Eddie’s worry. Eddie felt so good, so right, something like pheromones, compatibility on a primal level. Matt growled and licked the sensitive pit of Eddie’s outstretched arm. It made Eddie shiver and giggle. The joy that buoyed him, he was used to having it with -

_ Vee - _

Eddie sighed in relief as the symbiote took him. And he laughed a little, in disbelief, at the feeling that he’d gone  _ too long _ without Venom enveloping him like a second skin. Electrified, Eddie stretched his body out; everything tingled and throbbed. Venom held him, massaged him, soothed everything. Matt gasped, sat up and breathed it all in - their connection, their bond. It was cool like the sea. Fluid and excitable. Venom coiled around Matt’s hips as he engulfed Eddie’s body. Matt was panting. His eyes felt heavy. 

_ Fuck - _

Again, he collapsed on Eddie’s chest but this time Eddie was covered in Venom. Matt had every intention of asking Eddie for yet another round but now Venom felt as comfy as bed sheets in the early morning when the alarm goes off and you  _ just can’t.  _ Matt’s muscles still spasmed in aftershocks and slowly his body slid to Eddie’s side. Venom held them wrapped up in each other. Matt held Eddie tightly, pressed in close to nuzzle Eddie’s neck, their beards scratching. As they sank out of consciousness, Venom coiled into their hollows. He stretched himself across them, as soft as a blanket, and slipped into the nooks between their skin and the pillows.

  
  


\---

  
  


Matt woke with Eddie curling up around him, his face resting partially on Matt's chest and partially on a pillow of Venom. Venom was wrapped around them both, radiating a slow, pulsing warmth that communicated his contentedness. A cushion of Venom supported Matt's shoulders and Venom's face nuzzled under his ear, giving occasional contented purrs. 

Slowly, everything they had done flooded back to Matt in a wave of awe. He grinned, felt a flutter in his stomach, and crossed himself. 

"You gonna go to confession for this?" Eddie mumbled with a smirk, and then kissed Matt's ribs.

"Absolutely not."

Eddie only laughed, still sounding a bit high, and he nuzzled against Matt’s body and closed his eyes.

-

Eddie woke a little while later and there was a trail of Venom stretching out of the bedroom.

Eyes blurry, he only mumbled, “what time is it?”

**Almost noon,** Venom answered.

“Oh, jesus,” Eddie grumbled.

Matt walked to the bedroom door and leaned against it.

“We figured you'd be worn out. Best to let you sleep.”

Eddie grumbled, throat feeling scratchy.

“Yeah, I feel a little hung over.”

“We made you breakfast,” Matt told him. 

Eddie sat up and looked almost wounded.

“What?”

Venom carried in a spread of breakfast food; eggs and toast and fruit and coffee, all held on a tray of his own matter, and planted a kiss on Eddie’s cheek as he placed it in Eddie’s lap.

“No. Shut up,” Eddie giggled and covered his face with one arm. 

Venom curled around him and nuzzled his neck. 

**You’re cute when you’re embarrassed, Eddie.**

“The two of you together are gonna kill me,” he simpered, trying to hide a smile.

Matt climbed into bed with him, quietly sharing the space while Eddie ate and made contented sounds. He leaned in and took a strawberry from one plate, popped it into his mouth. Eddie watched. He still felt a little high. Everything was  _ bright _ .

Matt moved to kiss him, tasting like strawberries. The kiss was  _ hot; _ it wasn’t last night’s urgency, but there was something in each of them that called out for the other.

“Jesus,” Eddie sighed when Matt pulled away.

“You really need to stop calling me that. I don't like it,” Matt deadpanned.

“Sorry,” Eddie grinned. “Matt. Matty. Thank you for this.”

“Better,” Matt pecked his cheek and let him continue scarfing down his breakfast.

“So, what are we doing today?” Eddie asked, partially to break the comfortable silence that had his anxious brain spinning.

Matt answered, “Whatever we want. It’s Saturday."

Eddie grinned. "I guess Daredevil doesn't take weekends off?"

"Nope. But you've got me all day."

“Until something bad happens?” Eddie asked.

“Anything that I can hear,” Matt replied, gleam in his eye.

“How far is that?”

“A few blocks.”

“How many is a few?”

Matt sighed. “Depends on the direction. Two, maybe four.”

“Blocks?”

“Yeah.”

“So, you can hear what someone two blocks away is doing?”

“Sometimes. Honestly, it’s mostly white noise to me unless I’m looking for something or there’s something clearly wrong. Everyday sounds, I mostly tune them out.”

“How can you do that?”

“Lots of practice,” Matt replied, drawing out the words and spreading himself out over Eddie. 

There was a trademark lack of subtlety that told Eddie this conversation was over. Eddie was finishing the coffee when Matt started kissing his leg, lips making their way over his knee to his thigh.

“What are you doing?”

“Can I?” Matt asked, his voice simultaneously scorching hot and painfully tender.

“Suck my dick?” Eddie sounded surprised, like the night before hadn’t happened. Matt found it endearing.

“Yes. I want to. Please?”

Eddie grinned. “Yeah. You asked so nicely, too.”

Matt felt a warmth spread through him at the praise. He pulled the sheets down, exposing Eddie to the cooler ambient temperature before covering him with his body heat. Matt can feel what it does for Eddie, even just his face  _ near  _ Eddie’s cock. He looked up at Eddie while he traced his tongue along the shaft and  _ fuck, _ he knew exactly what he was doing. 

Venom whisked the dishes away, and when he returned to nuzzle Eddie’s neck again, Eddie’s entire focus turned to V. He took his Other’s face in his hands and filled his vision with Venom’s huge opal eyes.

There was something that made him feel dirty, as he watched Venom attend to something as menial as dishes. Venom took care of Eddie in a lot of ways - healing broken bones, avoiding traffic - but the domesticity sent a pain through Eddie. All he could think was  _ how could I be letting him do this,  _ and he needed to  _ tell him, _ urgently, that it was appreciated. That his actions were  _ seen. _

_ You're amazing, my darling. I appreciate you, I love you so much. _

Venom's matter squirmed, tickling across Eddie’s skin warmly.

**It was Matt's idea, ** Venom told him.

_ You.  _ Eddie was still focused on his Other. _ You do so much for me. That you’re here with me, V, it means everything. _

**You know I feel the same way, Eddie. I’d do anything for you.**

_ I know. God, I know and, V, I don’t even know how to tell you how much I love you.  _

**Don’t ** ** _have _ ** **to, Eddie. I know. I always know.**

Venom’s torso formed over Eddie’s, his talons framing Eddie’s pecs, and kissed his Other deeply. Eddie moaned into the kiss. Matt could feel how Eddie liked Venom holding him down with a playful fraction of strength.

Matt finds that he likes the feeling of  _ servicing _ Eddie while the other man connects with Venom. Eddie is so attentive, responsive, careful. Now he was casually rutting his dick into Matt's mouth while he kissed his other. Matt loved  _ feeling  _ them. They shared a series of deep, passionate kisses before Eddie’s attention returned to Matt. Matt let Eddie pull him into a kiss.

"Thank you both. This is amazing. I'm - overwhelmed -"

Matt looked primed, giving Eddie bedroom eyes.

“I’m not done yet.”

“I’m all yours, baby.”

When Matt returned to Eddie’s cock - breathing on him teasingly, kissing his shaft - Eddie shivered. A thrill surged in his gut, and his body tingled. Matt opened his mouth and let his tongue drag the underside of Eddie’s stiff cock and it left Eddie breathless. Eddie still felt sore and raw from the night before, and he didn’t know  _ how  _ Matt was ready for more.

_ Oh, god, Venom, what have we done?  _

**I’ve got you, Eddie.**

Venom kissed him, and his talons curled around to Eddie’s back. He teased their sharpness against Eddie’s skin and it sent a shiver through him that crashed into the sensations Matt was making. Eddie’s hands dug into Venom’s mass and he whined. Venom kissed his neck and Matt’s tongue slipped along his shaft. Matt swallowed him down a few times, with smooth movements - all the way down, all the way back up and off. 

_ Wait. I’ve got a better idea.  _

_ Oh no,  _ Eddie simpered. What. Next.

_ You want to, V?  _ Matt asked, and received a deep, playful growl in return.

Venom pivoted from Eddie, and latched on to Matt. Matt arranged himself so that Eddie could  _ watch _ \- both Matt sucking his dick and Venom eating Matt out.

_ Church is free, Matt. _

Eddie brought a hand to rest on Matt's ass; squeezing and spanking one cheek. Venom's face hovered near the base of Matt's spine. His tongue cupped one cheek, caressed his sac, and slithered into his hole.

_ I can't afford it.  _ And then he moaned, loud and shivering, before he took Eddie’s cock again - all the way down, all the way up.

Eddie growled, spanked Matt’s ass and watched Venom eat him out. The growl sounded so  _ hungry _ , like Venom’s growls. Eddie  _ had  _ to get in there, too. Matt had Eddie’s cock in hand, tongue teasing its head when Eddie licked Matt’s hole, brushing against Venom’s tongue.

Matt gasped and breathed moans against Eddie’s dick. Eddie spanked him again, spread him open. He worked his tongue into him alongside Venom’s. Mid-moan, Matt took Eddie’s cock down his throat, the sound muffled and fading into a low hum. 

Venom's matter seeped between their bodies, offering support to both men so that they could indulge themselves in relative comfort despite the slightly awkward, cross-wise angle of their bodies.

_ Vee -  _ Matt’s voice, so pretty, so needy, so grateful, filling their minds.  _ Thank you _ . 

Venom inches across their bodies, gently but greedily covering any part of them the other wasn’t occupied with. 

**You're welcome.**

_ Eddie, please - let me come? _

_ Already? Lightweight, Murdock. _

_ I want to -  _

Eddie pulled back from Matt’s ass, looking to Matt swallowing his dick, moaning onto it. 

_ You’re not done yet, baby. Little longer. I’m not done with this ass. _

Matt had to pull off Eddie’s dick to release a string of moans while Eddie’s attention returned to his hole. Matt could feel distinctly each tongue - Venom’s slipping deeply into him, fucking in and out of his ass and caressing both his cock and his sac in the process: and Eddie’s, hungry and flickering over his hole in teasing sensations. Venom held all of him, slick and wet, and Eddie moaned and growled and pressed his lips against his hole, simultaneously kissing Venom’s tongue.

_ This ass - _

Eddie’s gaze moved to watch Matt's mouth stroke his cock, then he tongued Matt's hole. He slapped one cheek and bit the other. 

_ Matty, I need to fuck this ass - _

_ Fuck, yes, Eddie, please. _

With a growl, Eddie overtook Matt. Face in silk sheets and Eddie's name on his lips, Matt was smirking and raising his hips. Matt practically captured Eddie with his body as they pushed together. Eddie slid inside with no resistance, they were both so wet they didn't need Venom's help this time. They felt each other as Venom retracted from them.  Instinct took over Eddie's body before he could think. His hips rose and slammed down against Matt's, making him cry out but still strain his body back against Eddie's, still wanting more.

"Eddie!"

_ Fuck -  _

Eddie felt a little  _ feral _ , like he was tapping into something he had better leave alone. But Matt -  _ Matt, Matt, Matt -  _

_ Eddie. _

Especially without Venom enveloping him, he felt raw and vulnerable on top of Matt, pumping his hips like something he'd only seen in porn, something he'd only done with Venom. A level of honesty he'd only ever reached with Venom. And here he was with Matt, Matt, so open for him. If Eddie was feeling  _ raw,  _ he couldn't even imagine how Matt felt -

**Do you want to feel it ** ** _now_ ** **, Eddie,?**

_ Only a little -  _ Eddie was scared of it. Matt could feel  _ everything.  _ Eddie could hardly handle the basics.

**It’s okay, Eddie. I’ll make sure it’s okay.**

Not unlike when Venom would respond separately from his own body, Eddie could feel the sensations from Matt's body like an overlay. Simultaneously real and not; a reality only Venom could share between them. 

"Eddie!"

Matt knew. He could  _ feel _ how Eddie was feeling him. Eddie couldn't hold that in his mind. He just kept pumping his hips into Matt and reveling in the dual sensation of bottoming out inside him and feeling how he  _ filled  _ him.

They could both feel Venom hanging back, watching them and feeding from their pleasure. He enjoyed it, watching his two humans do their  _ human  _ thing. Sex was definitely a  _ human  _ thing. Venom admired how much they enjoyed it, how committed they were to it. It was primal, simple, and yet profound. Venom felt comfort in the  _ joining _ .

"Fuck, yes, Eddie, please. Please don't stop, please -"

Eddie was almost starting to disassociate but Matt’s pleasure sounds kept him lucid. The multiple pleasure sources all assailed his senses so that he had to pull away from his body to keep his focus. He found he could almost float above it, touch it gently to let it in and then retract his consciousness as if from a hot iron. It was an exercise, a work out for his mind and patience. Experiencing all things and finding the balance to make the moment last as long as possible.  Eddie  _ held on _ to the movement of his body; hips pistoning into Matt, hitting him deep and making him moan. He just stayed in that steady sway, the rocking of his hips. He let everything else wash over him - Matt’s sounds and the way he squirmed under Eddie, and how Eddie could feel everything so intimately, like he was inhabiting both of their bodies simultaneously.

Matt was a revelation. No less needy than he had been the previous night but now with less composure. Eddie could fall right into him and forget everything. Forget to move, forget to breathe. He was so beautiful. His body was always straining, his built muscle in sharp relief as they flexed. He was always  _ present,  _ in every movement. Even with their bodies and minds joined, he was still reaching for more.    
  


The day was spent in bed. They skipped lunch; satisfied with each other. Every time Eddie thought he had nothing left to give, Matt would coax a little more. By the late afternoon they were a tangle of limbs in messy silk sheets, strewn across the bed at careless angles. 

  
  


_ You know, you should warn people about this.  _ _ Before _ _ you seduce them you should say, “oh, by the way, my libido is insatiable.” _

_It's never been a problem before, _Matt replied with a smirk.

“It’s not a problem, I'm just saying, a fair warning would have been appreciated.”

_ Shut up. It's not my fault you have an alien boyfriend who never sleeps.  _ “Maybe it's just you, huh? Ever think of that?”

_ Venom, you mean. _

_ Yeah. You're a part of Venom. _

_ Yeah - _

_ You’re so fucking in love with him, its amazing.  _

Eddie blushed. It wasn’t the first or last time Matt would roll over his attempts to self-depreciate.

_ Your Bond. Your connection.  _ Matt shook his head in awe. “It’s incredible.”

Their conversations were like this now: mostly thought, occasionally with audible punctuation. It was beyond “finishing each other’s sentences.” It still scared Eddie, but he had to admit he was starting to like it. It was like a gift from Venom.

_ I think I’m dead, _ Eddie whined playfully.

_ Want me to take a look?  _ Matt climbed atop him.

“No!” Eddie cackled, shoving Matt off of him. “If you fuck me again I’m not gonna be able to feel my dick anymore.”

Matt only scoffed. 

Slowly, Eddie extracted himself from the silk sheets. “I’m going to shower.”

Matt stretched and caught Eddie as he rounded the bed, taking a kiss. “I’ll start dinner.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I told you I still had a plot!

All the rivers run back into the sea

But baby don't you leave

I only want you running back to me

(BØRNS, "Blue Madonna")

  
  
  


\--

“Don’t even think about it.”

“What?” Eddie froze, his hands hovering near the coffee pot.

“It’s too late for coffee. You drink too much anyway. Venom agrees with me.”

Matt didn’t even need to look at him. Eddie had the fleeting thought that maybe a boyfriend who knows everything may not have been the best idea but quickly realized Matt’s intervention would probably be good for him.

“Yeah? Well, what am I supposed to do?”

Matt shrugged. “Caffeine pills?”

“Ugh, more pills is the last thing I need.” 

Eddie sat at the table, still wearing only the towel from his shower.

“What pills?”

“Phenethylamine, or whatever it is. For this monster.”

**Eddie**. 

“I'm sorry, my darling,” Eddie held his hand out for Venom to take. 

He sighed, took a few deep breaths. He hated hearing Venom’s voice like that. It made him need to seek actions of contrition, as if his buried Catholicism were rising to the surface. He couldn’t abide that his carelessness might hurt his Other.

“It's the shit Venom needs to survive. My brain makes it, but not fast enough to keep up with the love of my life.”

Venom purred.

“It's also in chocolate.”

“That explains a lot,” Matt nodded. “It’s a neurotransmitter. The fact that Venom is eating it would explain the depression.”

Eddie scoffed. “I’ve been depressed long before I met Venom.”

“Two things can be true at the same time,” Matt answered.

To keep the silence from stretching, Eddie asked, “so are you going to find me a replacement for coffee?”

“I mean, you could always just have me,” Matt replied. It was cheesy but that smirk sold it.

“What we do together tends to put me to sleep, though.”

“Then we’ll do something else. Keep up this gym routine with me and we’ll see how you feel.”

Matt was looking to Eddie with a _ warmth _ that melted him where he sat. 

“I’m so fucking lucky,” Eddie gushed, not even caring what a lovestruck loon he sounded like. “Not only do you cook, but you’re amazing at it. Better smell, better taste.”

“I like to stay humble.”

Eddie chuckled, “yeah. Sense of humor, too. We hit the jackpot, didn’t we, V?”

**I’ve been telling you that since the beginning, Eddie.**

“Yeah, yeah.”

“What did he say?” Matt asked, grinning.

“He said ‘I told you so.’”

Matt laughed at that. Matt seemed to return focus to his cooking, but he grinned widely.

After dinner it was Eddie who coaxed Matt back to bed. Not for sex, but Eddie’s preferred intimacy of cuddles and idle conversation.

“So is the breakfast in bed something you do for everyone you bring home?” 

“No, you dork, it’s because people are trying to kill us and we should stay here.”

Eddie scoffed. “If they’re trying to kill us so hard, they don’t know where you live? Could’ve done it by now. They’re on standby. Waiting for us to make a move.”

“Yeah, exactly. So you’re on lockdown.”

Matt straddled Eddie’s lap but then seemed to remember that sex was not Eddie’s priority. So he only sank himself down atop Eddie with his face to Eddie’s heart.

“To be honest, my relationships don't last very long," he said after a moment.

"Shocker," Eddie sighed sarcastically. "Given your extra curricular activities."

Matt punched Eddie gently, and Eddie threaded his fingers through Matt's hair.

"Yeah, but even before Daredevil. I guess I'm always ending up with the wrong kind of person."

Eddie chuckled. "Me, I always find great people. And then it turns out that _ I'm _ the wrong kind of person."

Matt could have placated to that but knew it wouldn't have done either of them any good.

"I guess all of this is kind of an unorthodox way to start a relationship," he mused.

"Well,” Eddie threaded their fingers together, “you have superpowers and I have an alien, so…I'm not sure how to do normal.”

Matt's lips traced Eddie’s heart, felt it pulse through his chest.

"I really like you, Eddie. I don't think you're the wrong kind of person."

Eddie grinned. "Yeah, but if that's your type then how would you know?"

"Maybe. Maybe that's how I _ would _know." He laid a kiss on Eddie’s sternum. "I've never met anyone like you."

Eddie pulled Matt forward into a kiss.

"The other night you said that I don't flinch. I see that in you too. You just take everything in stride."

"Are you shitting me? I'm a nervous wreck."

"Yeah, and it hurts when I get hit. That doesn’t matter. You keep going, when anyone smarter than us would know to quit."

Eddie smiled. Matt sat up, leaning his weight on one hand on Eddie's other side.

"You know, everyone's got an opinion about what I do. _ "It's too much," "it's not enough," "it doesn't matter," "it's gonna make me a monster." _ You don't care about that. To you, it just is.”

"It's your choice, not mine. V and I just want to make sure you stay as safe as you can."

"You actually help. You don't just think you're helping by telling me to quit."

"We don't want you to quit. It's what you do. And, you know, it's pretty hot."

Matt’s smirk was all Eddie could see for a blinding moment before something that had been stuck in his head tumbled out.

“Does this ever scare you?” Eddie asked vaguely.

“What, being naked with you?” Matt grinned.

“Being _ close _ to someone,” Eddie said.

“Yeah. But not the way you might think,” Matt answered.

“Why?”

“Because I have to protect anyone who gets this close. And what if I can't protect you?”

“But you don't need to. We can take care of ourselves. We protected you, remember?”

“This is gonna get worse, Eddie. The closer we get.”

“I know.”

“That’s why I wanted us to have this. Just one day. We may not get another chance.”

Eddie watched Matt’s face for a moment. “That’s very dramatic.”

“It’s true.”

Matt felt Venom’s cool touch slither across his skin, and he shivered, but then he _ reached _into the touch and felt Venom through it. Venom’s mass spread flat along his spine. Matt kissed Eddie’s chest. 

“We need to come up with a game plan to get into that lab.”

The sun had set on Matt’s allotted day and now he was back in soldier mode. But Matt wasn’t a soldier.

“Wait - you actually make plans?” Eddie ribbed.

Matt gave him the hardest, least-humoring expression Eddie had ever seen and he'd seen _ alot _. It made him guffaw. Eddie stretched and settled his limbs, wriggling under Matt’s weight.

“It can wait til morning.”

“Eddie.”

“You started this,” he insisted, holding Matt’s body close to prevent him leaving. “I’m going to finish it. It can wait til morning.”

“Well, I’m not waiting.”

“Just a little longer? Just until I fall asleep and you can go,” Eddie mumbled, nuzzling into a pillow.

Matt sighed.

  
  


\----

A scream woke Matt. It was near enough that he didn't have to concentrate to hear it. 

_ Shit. I should be out there. What are you doing? _ Panicked, Matt's brain starts a whir of processing sensory information, and underneath it all there's that persistent Guilt. _ What are you doing? What are you doing? _

The scream again, a cry for help in a broken, panicked voice. He tracked the sound through the map of the city in his brain, narrowed down the location.

_ Have to go now. Now. _

Matt's hands were shaking. A cool touch encircled his wrist.

**Let me help?**

_ Please! Now! _

Venom enveloped Matt's body instantly and they were on the rooftop in seconds. Instinctively, Matt sent out a tendril of Venom just as he'd throw a billy club. But now he didn't have to stick to just rooftops. He could forego the circuitous route he needed to build momentum to make that jump. Now he could just send out a tendril and _ go. _ No longer hindered by _ humanity _. They flew through the night like a shadow. 

When they touched down in the alley, Matt could taste the blood in the air. 

_ Wounded. But not too late. No internal damage. Shallow cuts across the chest. _

Venom scooped up the man with the knife and slammed him against the opposite wall. 

"Go!" Matt shouted behind him, to the person who was bleeding. 

They nodded, and scuffled out of the alley, hugging one wall. They faced the street traffic with fear but anything was better than what they'd escaped. Their chest was covered in blood and they staggered forward only a few steps into the deep night before someone caught sight of them through a storefront window and rushed out to help. Matt focused on that - how Venom’s senses assisting his own allowed him to know that one innocent victim was right now being ushered into a well lit space and awaiting an ambulance. 

Venom made their own victim _ wait. _He foamed and thrashed and spit curses, for nothing.

**Bad man. Very bad.**

Matt was actually trying to calculate how much he'd have to hold back, encased in Venom. An impossible task. He only knew precisely how to attack when it was his own hands. They were holding the man in their hands. One set of hands; theirs. They were one. Matt wasn't here alone; Venom wasn't a weapon. Matt wasn’t here to command. He was here to assist.

**And what did you expect? **

Venom simply engulfed the man's head with his mouth and bit into the neck, blood gushing warm like juice from fruit. 

_ Venom, no! _ Matt exclaimed but Venom knew his heart wasn’t in it. He could feel that Matt _ knew _their prey deserved nothing less.

Wet, tingling. Matt felt the sensation of Venom's meal, felt the symbiote's warmth and comfort at the satiation of his hunger. And he also saw everything. A litany of horrors in the life of the man whose brain filled Venom's mouth. Felt his perverse joys. Knew _ exactly _ how he planned to hurt the person they had saved from him.

Matt needed to collapse. To scream, to cry, to expel _ something _ that wasn't _ his _. To purge the horrors he was seeing.

**Let's get you home, Matty.**

-

Nightmares woke Eddie. He reached out to Venom, but he was without his Other. It sent him into a slow spiral of panic. Matt was gone too, so it was likely they were together. Still, waking up without Venom was a feeling he had resolved to never experience again. He was furiously resentful at first, but it cooled to a deep, hollow ache. He knew he wouldn't be able to sleep without his Other, so he sat at the dining table and waited.

-

They came in through the roof access, taking the stairs quickly to stand in front of Eddie, both looking like they knew exactly what kind of trouble they were in. Venom enveloped Matt's body in imitation of the Daredevil suit, but he had a little blob face peeking over Matt's shoulder immediately saying,

**I'm sorry, Eddie.** **Wanted to tell you, but you were asleep and there wasn't time.**

"What happened?" Eddie asked in his best restrained "I'm not mad" voice.

Matt's voice was shaky, and he spoke in chopped fragments.

"Heard a call for help. Close. About two blocks.” Frustration bore his teeth. “I should have already been out there, but - Wasn’t moving fast enough. Venom asked to help. He got us there in time."

"Did you help them?"

Matt nodded, and then seemed to almost get lost in the repetitive motion of it for a few seconds before he said, "we ate someone."

"Venom," Eddie closed his eyes, exasperated.

**Eddie, let me explain.**

Eddie was still more concerned with the emptiness that rattled through him, nothing but blood in his veins.

"Either of you could have told me!"

Eddie's voice was strained and Venom and Matt realized together that the "eating people" part wasn't Eddie's primary focus. Venom roiled but Matt only took deep breaths. The "eating people" part was a little more urgent to him.

**I'm sorry, Eddie. It was important. We had to go. It was the only way to help.**

"Venom, why did you -"

"Don't get angry with him, Eddie," Matt cut across Eddie's words, suddenly commanding. His voice was even when he said, "We made a decision, together. No one saw it happen, I'm positive."

"Matt, this is why we left San Francisco."

"I know, Eddie."

"I'm trying to keep him safe!" 

Eddie tried to keep his voice under control but it strained while his hands shook.

"I know."

"If anyone gets their hands on him - I _ can't _ lose him, Matt. I _ won't." _

**Eddie. Can we?** Venom asked and extended hesitantly toward Eddie.

Eddie didn't respond at first. He felt hollow and resentful and he didn't want his Other's touch. But then the thought of _ not _having it made tears sting his eyes so he nodded and held out a hand. Venom rejoined him. Matt was left in only his boxers.

"He would've killed them. And then he would have found someone else," Matt's voice was like iron, even while his hands shook. "He would have done it again, no matter what."

**I see them when we eat. I know everything about them. Matt felt it too.**

And Eddie realized that Matt needed him now more than Eddie needed Venom. He stood, and wrapped Matt up in his arms. Venom did too, stretching around him like a blanket.

"It's okay, Matty. It's gonna be okay. You didn't do anything wrong."

"I don't -" Matt set his forehead to Eddie's jaw. His breath had become labored. He was maybe in shock. "I don't regret it."

Eddie kissed Matt's forehead. He and Venom coaxed Matt toward the bedroom.

"Come on, let's go back to bed."

"Can't sleep," he muttered, even as he collapsed onto the mattress.

"V can help with that."

-

Once Matt was asleep, Eddie reached out to Venom.

_V, You have to tell me before you do stuff like that. Please. You scared me._

**Sorry, Eddie.**

_ We're together on this or we're nothing. Same as always. We. That's what I told Matt. I told him I put you first, always. _

**I'm careful, Eddie! I want you to trust me.**

_ V- _

**I know everything you know. Everything.**

_ But V, you don't. There's still a part of me that's me. That's mine. Autonomously. And there's a part of you that's only you. I know that. _

**You're right, Eddie.**

_ I do trust you. I will always trust you, V. But I get scared. Maybe you and Matt don't get scared. I'm not scared of you getting us in trouble. I'm scared of you not coming back. _

**I understand, Eddie. **

-

When Eddie woke, he had his Venom, but no Matt. He sat up and noticed Matt sitting on the floor near the foot of the bed. Eyes closed, meditating.

“You're not going to church?” Eddie had his playful voice on.

_ Hmm? Why? _

“Sunday?”

_ No. _

It didn’t occur to Eddie at first that Matt replied through their bond. It felt natural. It didn’t occur to him that he replied in kind.

_ Why not? _

Scoff. Smirk. Sigh.

_ Because there's nothing to do there. _

Eddie didn't understand. 

_ Ask me about it another time. For now, sit. _

Eddie took up a lotus position facing Matt. He watches Matt’s breath, matches it. Posture. Eddie feels his body align with Matt’s like a mirror image. 

_ Venom and I have been talking about _ ** _consent. _ **Matt speaks through the bond.

That’s when it hit him. 

“How are you so good at that?” Eddie asked, watching Matt’s stoic face, his eyes closed.

_ You just need to get better at it. _

“No shit.”

_ Wait, you said talking? _ Eddie thought, looking at his hand. He didn't see Venom connecting them. _ How are _ ** _we_ ** _ even talking right now? _

_ Venom and I bonded. _

Eddie felt a little shell shocked from how _ calmly _Matt stated it. Nonchalant. 

“Wait. What does that mean?”

**I’m still with you, Eddie, **Venom assured his Other. He felt the spike of panic in Eddie’s chest; that Venom may have left him.

**I can be with both of you now. Together.**

"Did you - bond when you ate someone?"

**Not necessarily. I was with him, we were together. We joined. We bonded. **

_ It was more than a shared consciousness. We become one; the same consciousness. We were Venom, _Matt elaborated.

"Yeah. That's what it's like. But how? I thought you said only one bond at a time.”

**Usually. I didn't know. Never tried.**

“So, what changes?” Eddie asked aloud, trying to sound calm, trying not to let his anxiety get the better of him.

**Nothing has to change, Eddie. Our connection is more permanent, now, that’s all.**

“What’s that mean?”

**It’s just easier to maintain. We can do more. Be more. Together. I'm not replacing you, Eddie.**

"I wasn't-" Eddie tried to protest aloud, as if he weren’t talking to someone with intimate knowledge of his own neuroses.

**Yes, you were. That's exactly what you were thinking. It's not your fault you think that. People have abandoned you, people who were very important to you. I won't abandon you, Eddie. Not ever. I swear. **

Eddie didn’t know what to do in the face of such a promise except nod gravely.

_ Venom, I need to ask you about something I felt last night. _

**Yes, Matt?**

_ “Hunger” isn’t a strong enough word for what I felt. Is that how you feel all the time? _

**Mostly. It is what my kind has evolved to do. Eat. Consume. We can bond, we ** ** _should _ ** **bond. But my people thought they had no use for symbiosis. And so, we became conquerors. We wasted our resources. Greed led us to be less than our evolution allowed. Can I ask you something, Matty?**

_ Yes. _

**You told Eddie it was ** ** _our_ ** ** decision. That we decided together to eat the bad guy.**

_ Yes. I thought about it, before you ate him. Did you feel that? _

**I felt a lack of resistance. I know what that feels like. Eddie has fought me before.**

Eddie’s sheepishness flared in their connection and it made Matt smirk affectionately.

**Please, Matt. I want to know how you feel about it.**

_ Venom, how I feel about it is … complicated. But I don’t regret it. I don’t think it was wrong. _

**Do you really feel that way, Matt?**

_ Yeah. You can tell, can't you? _

**Yes. But I can also tell that you believe eating people is wrong.**

Matt's lips ghosted a smile. Sometimes Venom sounded so innocent.

_ Yes. That's also true. _

**Eddie says we can only eat bad people. Is that your rule too?**

_ My rule? _

**Eddie says everyone has rules. And we have to respect them. I want to know what your rules are, Matt, so I can respect them.**

Matt took a deep breath and he felt tension he'd been holding uncoil. 

Eddie's eyes were brimming with pride and he had to close them. 

_ I don't punish anyone. That's not what I do. _ Matt's voice rang clearly through their bond. _ I don't care what people deserve. I can't judge anyone. If it's a matter of someone's life, then there isn't a choice. I won't ever let something happen that I could have stopped. And not just once. Everytime. Everytime I'm not there to help someone, it's on me. My sins are everything that happens that I could have stopped. _

Matt paused and took several deep breaths. Eddie stayed focused on matching his breathing. He rolled his shoulders, stretched, adjusted his posture.

_ This isn’t how I thought it would be. _ Matt’s confidence waned. His vulnerability made Venom and Eddie both seek to comfort him. _ I imagined that when I killed someone, it would feel different. I thought, maybe it would break me somehow and that I would be changed. And, maybe it just hasn't sunk in yet, but - I don't regret it. _

**You didn’t kill him, Matt. I ate him.**

_ We ate him, Venom. I understand the hunger. I know you need more than pills and chocolate. And that's not your choice. You're doing what you have to do to survive. I won't let you starve, I promise. But I don't punish people. That's my rule. A life for a life, that's it. I'll take one to save one if it’s necessary. And, please, will you stop to ask me first? I know you felt me think about it, but give me a minute. Let me _ ** _tell_ ** _ you first. _

**I understand.**

_ Venom? Is it like that - every time? Do you always _ ** _see_ ** _ them like that? _

**Yes. Every one. I know them all. You don't have to feel it, Matty, I could -**

_ No. No, I do have to feel it, Venom. I have to feel every one. _

**Why?**

Matt could feel Venom squirm in a curious discomfort.

_ Because death means something. And, the things I believe - I have to honor it. _

**I understand, Matt. Thank you. Thank you for trusting us.**

  
  



	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry this is shortish and has a cliffhanger :/ It's been too long I needed to post something.

_ Yes. Morning. The socially acceptable time for coffee. _

Eddie was awake before the sun. Nightmares. He was existing in some liminal space of exhaustion and fight-or-flight. The anxiety almost felt like a caffeine buzz, but without the warmth. He watched the coffee pot drip. 

**Matt’s awake,** Venom announced. But Eddie felt it too. Eddie also thought, _ you don’t have to tell me that, _ but he didn’t say it. But it didn’t matter that he didn’t say it because they all already heard it. _ Oh god, what have we gotten into? _Eddie thought, somewhat gloomily, lamenting the very concept of privacy.

**Sorry, Eddie. **

_ Don’t be sorry, love. It’s just going to take some getting used to. _

  
  


Eddie drank coffee while Matt showered. They were already developing routines. It was horrible and lovely, a frightening ease. When Matt was finished, Eddie showered quickly, spending only a couple minutes under the spray of warm water. He knew if he gave into that comfort for too long, he’d break into pieces. Towel around his hips, he padded barefoot back into the bedroom. Eddie stared in open awe when he walked in on Matt dressing. He was wearing slacks and buttoning up his shirt over his Daredevil suit.

"Seriously?"

Matt's smirk as he gave a casual deference to Eddie's direction was devastating. 

For a moment they all melted. 

“Don’t get into any trouble while I’m gone,” Matt told them, smirking.

He kissed Eddie’s cheek and proceeded to the office.

-

Eddie had spent the better part of two days digging through Dr. Patras' lab journals. Alone. Well, alone with Venom. Karen was done with it, and he respected that. He stayed cooped up in Matt's apartment, sifting through coded text he didn't understand. Honestly, it was all starting to blend together. He had frustratingly little to show for his efforts.

**Wait, Eddie, look.**

“Mmm?” Eddie grumbled, lacking caffeine.

Venom’s hands manipulated the laptop, scrolling back through incomprehensible documents.

**Here.**

"Life Foundation assets purchased at auction - shit, you're a better reporter than I am.”

**Nonsense, Eddie. I learned from watching you. Stop selling yourself short. ** **  
**Venom moved to embrace Eddie from behind, his face hovering next to his Other, symbiote hands kneading Eddie’s shoulders.

"I just -" Eddie exhaled a frustrated breath.

**I know. You haven't done enough to ** ** _prove_ ** ** yourself.**

Eddie sighed and fell into V. The Other held him, propped up his exhausted body. Eddie was always so tired. Sometimes, Venom worried.

“So they could have symbiotes. Whatever they got from the Life Foundation...”

**Look at the buyer listed for those “assets.”**

Eddie squinted at the small text. “Echidna?” He sighed. “Well, that’ll do it. Too bad it’s a cold lead.”

**Aside from the lab.**

“Yeah, and we’re not exactly any closer to getting in there. We’re going to have to bite the bullet sooner or later. Too bad we don’t have a _ living _source on the inside.”

That got Venom thinking. Eddie was privy to the symbiote’s gears turning but he was too tired. Too tired. He startled when his phone rang. It was his editor in The City.

“Shiiiiiiiiiiiit -” he moaned. God, he needed a cup of coffee. He answered the call and got ready to put on a customer service voice. 

“Hello?” Damn, he sounded just as tired as he felt.

"Hey, Eddie. How's it going?" It was more of a greeting than a question.

"Uh, okay. I'm not finished yet."

"Actually, you are. We're scrapping this one."

It still felt like falling in the pit of Eddie’s stomach, even though he’d been anticipating this.

"Why?" He grumbled. So much for customer service.

"It doesn't go anywhere."

"How do you know? I'm not finished yet." 

"This isn't up for debate, Eddie."

"Wait, did someone get to you?" Eddie asked, not even bothering to be aware of how he sounded.

"We've booked you a flight back. We'll see you back in the office."

"No. I'm not coming back."

"What?"

"I'm doing the work, here, man."

"Eddie. Leave it alone."

"You can cancel the ticket, okay? I'm not coming back."

"Eddie-"

Eddie ended the call and dropped his phone onto the table.

"Fuck. I can't believe I just did that."

**The right thing, Eddie. We can't stop now.**

"I know. Doesn't help this panic attack, though."

Eddie took a deep breath but it felt like nothing at all. It felt like suffocating.

**It's okay, Eddie. **

Venom wrapped around the widest part of his chest, compressing Eddie gently to deter his hyperventilation and help him regulate his breathing. Venom stretched himself lovingly between Eddie's hands.

**Squish me, Eddie. It always helps you feel better.**

Eddie started gently kneading the symbiote matter between his hands. He let Venom guide each inhale and exhale to a steady rhythm. His hands gently stretched the portion of Venom they held, folded him back and forth. Focused on his slick texture and airy consistency. Squeezed him slowly, watching him fill up his hands. Sank his fingers deeply into the symbiote's matter, feeling that cool wave engulf him like when Venom took him over. 

"Thanks, V," Eddie sighed, feeling his breath and heart rate falling toward normal.

**Take care of you, Eddie.**

Eddie continued to soothe, fidgeting Venom's matter between his hands. Venom already knew, but now Matt’s presence pinged in Eddie’s mind. A moment later, Matt entered the loft. He already knew that something was wrong.

"What's up?" he asked.

"I think I just quit my job," Eddie replied, staring at nothing and rolling Venom's matter between his hands. Saying it out loud helped. His breathing was almost normal.

"Congrats," Matt answered dryly.

"What?"

"You'll find another one." 

Matt kissed Eddie's head and mussed his hair, and then entered the kitchen. 

"How are you so casual about that?" Eddie asked, twisting around to peer at Matt over the back of the couch.

"How should I be? Your job is none of my business," he answered, opening the fridge.

"I'm kind of stuck here right now. That doesn't bother you?"

"Why would it bother me?" Matt shrugged and sat next to Eddie, bringing him a glass of orange juice.

"I'm sleeping on your couch -"

Matt gave Eddie a peck on the cheek. "I prefer you in the bed."

Eddie blushed at the smirk. "You're really just gonna let me live with you?"

"Why not? I told you I wanted you to stay."

"You -" Eddie stammered. "You're a madman."

Matt chuckled. "So I've been told."

Eddie was still fidgeting with Venom in his hands. Matt slipped a hand into Eddie's, their fingers tangling up in Venom. 

“Come on, I brought lunch.”

-

Lunch with Matt gave Eddie a second wind and he spent a little longer going over the notes. Venom was attentive to the information, and got more absorbed in it than anything Eddie had seen. Eddie had a nebulous feeling that Venom was getting more out of it than he was, and even hoped that was true. Because he didn't learn anything new. He trusted his Other completely. Eddie could feel Venom thinking independently, working on something he wasn’t ready to share with Eddie. And Eddie respected that.

-

Eddie showered in the afternoon, letting himself have 15 minutes. It was a small eternity. Bad thoughts were brewing in him. Dr. Patras and the lab notes, Karen’s warning, the call from the editor. It all pointed to the same thing. He was next. But he wouldn't stop, even when he knew better. He had to get out of the apartment. He wanted a good cup of coffee. They seriously needed a fresh supply of chocolate.

  
  


“Shit.”

**What's wrong, Eddie?** Venom asked, even though he already knew.

“Uh, well I should have done laundry.” 

It hadn’t actually been a problem for the weekend, as he’d spent much of it naked. He only had a week’s worth of clothes with him anyway. He could always just wear his hoodie and jeans, he didn’t really _ need _anything else ...

**You know, Eddie, we can be your clothes.**

“You can?” Eddie thought about it for a moment. “Why haven't we done that before?”

**Never needed to.**

“Okay, let’s do it.”

Venom took over Eddie’s body in a perfect approximation of a standard outfit - V-neck, boxers, jeans and hoodie, socks and boots - in surreal detail. 

“Shit,” Eddie admired.

**It’s what you wear everyday, Eddie. It’s not hard.**

Eddie grabbed his phone, slipped it in his pocket.

**Eddie, we should wait for Matt. **

_ I know. We’ll just run across the street, okay? It’ll take two minutes. _

**Eddie, no.**

But Venom didn’t stop him when Eddie crossed the loft and opened the front door. He crossed the threshold and fretted a moment over not being able to lock up but convinced himself it would only take a minute.

Eddie, oblivious, started down the stairwell and met Matt coming up halfway.

“What are you doing?” Matt asked, more stern than Eddie had seen him.

Instinctively, Eddie physically backpedaled, climbing a couple steps backward before he stopped and backed against the wall.

“Uh, nothing.”

“Mmhm,” Matt answered with a growl that made Eddie’s stomach flutter.

_ I know what you're thinking, you know? _

Eddie let out a long blustery sigh, with nothing to do but look sheepish. 

"Sorry."

_ Don't worry about it. Just go back inside. _

Eddie turned, climbed the stairs back to the apartment without another word. 

Back inside the apartment, Eddie sat silently down on the sofa, not daring to even move.

Matt held a grocery bag and pulled a stack of chocolate bars out of it. He put the chocolate in Eddie's hands, and Venom's rose to hold it too. 

"Not all at once," Eddie hissed, swatting at Venom's hands comically.

"Is that enough?" Matt asked with a chuckle.

"For now," Eddie replied. 

He put half the chocolate in the pocket of the hoodie as if withholding it from his Other.

"I'm losing it, Matt," Eddie muttered, looking utterly exhausted and rubbing his face.

_ I know. It's time. _Matt responded silently.

_ We've got an idea. _Venom and Matt together in Eddie’s mind was surreal and a little scary.

_ You’re going to do everything I tell you, understand? _ Matt instructed through their bond. _ And don’t say anything out loud. _

Eddie nodded, still quiet, not touching Matt’s face with his gaze. Matt’s voice like omnipotence in his brain.

_ I have a plan. But it involves using you as bait. _

Eddie’s sheepish face broke, cracking a grin. _ I thought you were trying to protect me. _Eddie gave a tired grunt instead of saying the thought aloud, his body lagging behind the silent communication.

Matt responded immediately,_ you told me you could take care of yourselves. So I’m trusting you. You trust me? _ _  
_Eddie and Venom spoke as one.

** _Yes, Matt. We trust you. _ **

  
  


\---

“He’s on the move.”

Matt caught it and listened carefully, concentrating on an approximate direction. He moved silently across the rooftop. Eddie’s location hummed in his perception and he sorted through everything he could pick up in a radius around him. A few people on the street, mostly pedestrians...

-

**Take the right here, Eddie. **

Eddie stopped walking. He made some sounds with his mouth and shuffled his feet, trying to give Matt something to pick up.

“I don’t like this,” he mumbled aloud.  
He knew Matt was tracking them from a rooftop nearby. He trusted Matt and Venom both, completely. It didn’t stop his heart hammering in his ears.

**I know. Get ready.**

Eddie ducked into the alleyway, kicking a glass bottle back toward a dumpster. His eyes were locked on the corner up ahead where he could take another right and end up back on the street.  
Eddie laughed nervously. “I’m starting to feel like this was a bad idea.”

_ It’s okay, Eddie. _

-

“He’s changed course.” 

A man in a suit spoke into a comm mic hidden up his sleeve and gestured down the street to two men in casual attire. He summoned the men stationed on the other side of the intersection.

“Cut him off.”

-

_ Coming toward you. _ Matt’s voice in Eddie’s mind. _  
_This is it. An instant that anticipation stretched, two steps down the length of the alley. Eddie was nearly to the corner, when two men dressed inconspicuously rounded the wall. He’d probably walked by them earlier. He wondered if Venom had noticed them and a heartbeat after the thought, he heard Matt's voice.

_ More coming behind you. _

"Great." Eddie took a few steps backward, and put his hands up. He looked over his shoulder to see three more men approaching him. The one in front wore a suit. Eddie put his back to the wall.

Venom simmered instinctively, bristling as the five men surrounded them in the alley. Now it was Eddie reminding him, _ Easy, love, easy. _

“Edward Brock,” said the man in the suit, flashing a badge. “Need you to come with us.” 

“Can I see that badge again?” Eddie asked, hands still hovering above his head.

“No,” answered the man, and then punched Eddie in the face before he could say any more.

Venom roared and surged forward, lunging toward the man in the suit.

“There it is! Get it!”

The men drew their weapons, which looked like pistols holstered at their belts. Eddie didn’t have much time to register how the guns looked strange, but they seemed to glow. Venom was hit with intense, alarming waves of sound until he and Eddie were pulled apart. 

The frequency rippled through Venom and into Matt, making him grimace in pain like tinnitus. 

** _Matty, no - _ **They were both frantic to protect him and Venom considered severing the connection with Matt.

"No," Matt growled. _ "You stay with me," _he commanded.

Venom focused his entire will into holding onto Matt. Blinding, overwhelming pain like nothing he’d ever felt tore him apart.

-

Two of the men trapped Venom in a clear cylinder and the others held Eddie back as he struggled for his symbiote.

**Eddie!**

“No! You leave him alone!” Eddie shouted before the men hit him hard across the back of the head.

The men shoved Eddie, unconscious, into a van and made their escape. The men who held Venom captive took a separate vehicle in the opposite direction.  
Matt would be able to track them, once he’d regained some control over his senses. 

_ Venom! _Matt reached out, grasping.

**I’m still with you, Matty.**

_ Thank God. _

**Matt! We have to get Eddie! ** **  
** _ I’m still a little scrambled. _ _  
_ **We can do it together. Let me -** ****  
Matt nodded immediately. _ Yes. Do it. Let's go. _ _  
_Venom wrapped Matt’s body entirely, mimicking the Daredevil suit. He had just enough strength in him for that. And together, they could fight. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I launched a Patreon! It'll be pretty bare for a while but I'm putting it out there to see if there's interest.  
Let me know if you have any ideas about tiers, patron exclusives, etc.  
https://www.patreon.com/darienfawkes  
If you're moved to leave a little tip for me but don't want a patreon subscription you can use my cashapp $OwlSloth

**Author's Note:**

> I launched a Patreon! It'll be pretty bare for a while but I'm putting it out there to see if there's interest.  
Let me know if you have any ideas about tiers, patron exclusives, etc.  
https://www.patreon.com/darienfawkes


End file.
